An international team of experts led by the University of Exeter used
chemical genetic inhibition of a protein in rice blast and successfully
stopped it from spreading in a rice leaf. The results are published in
Science.

Rice blast destroys up to 30 percent of the world's rice crop annually. The
fungus has a powerful mechanism of infecting a rice plant. When it enters
into a rice cell, the plasma membrane stays intact and the cells remain
viable, then the fungus moves to nearby cells through the plant's
intercellular channels called plasmodesmata.

The researchers used a chemical genetic approach to selectively inhibit a
single protein (Pmk1) in the blast fungus. When Pmk1 is inhibited, the
fungus gets trapped within a rice cell. Pmk1 is responsible for the
expression of genes involved in suppression of host immunity. It also
controls the fungus' hyphal constriction, which allows transfer into new
host cells.

[www.exeter.ac.uk]