Silencing Osa-miR827 via CRISPR/Cas9 protects rice against the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. In plants, miRNAs participate in diverse developmental processes and adaptive responses to biotic and abiotic stress. MiR827 has long been recognized to be involved in plant responses to phosphate starvation. In rice, the miR827 regulates the expression of OsSPX-MFS1 and OsSPX-MFS2, these genes encoding vacuolar phosphate transporters. In this study, we demonstrated that miR827 plays a role in resistance to infection by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae in rice. We show that MIR827 overexpression enhances susceptibility to infection by M. oryzae which is associated to a weaker induction of defense gene expression during pathogen infection. Conversely, CRISPR/Cas9-induced mutations in the MIR827 gene completely abolish miR827 production and confer resistance to M. oryzae infection. This resistance is accompanied by a reduction of leaf Pi content compared to wild-type plants, whereas Pi levels increase in leaves of the blast-susceptible miR827 overexpressor plants. In wild-type plants, miR827 accumulation in leaves decreases during the biotrophic phase of the infection process. Taken together, our data indicates that silencing MIR827 confers resistance to M. oryzae infection in rice while further supporting interconnections between Pi signaling and immune signaling in plants. Unravelling the role of miR827 during M. oryzae infection provides knowledge to improve blast resistance in rice by CRISPR/Cas9-editing of MIR827.