📄 Abstract
Invasive aquatic weeds such as Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth), Salvinia molesta (giant salvinia), Pistia stratiotes (water lettuce), and Hydrilla verticillata pose serious threats to freshwater ecosystems, irrigation systems, fisheries, and agricultural productivity worldwide. In India, their rapid proliferation has resulted in significant ecological degradation and economic losses through obstruction of water flow, depletion of dissolved oxygen, suppression of native biodiversity, and impairment of aquatic resources. Conventional management approaches, including mechanical removal, chemical herbicides, and classical biological control, often provide limited and short-term control while raising concerns regarding cost, environmental safety, and herbicide resistance. Recent advances in RNA interference (RNAi) technology offer a novel and highly specific approach for sustainable weed management. RNAi functions through sequence-specific silencing of essential genes using double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), enabling targeted suppression of weed growth, development, and reproduction with minimal impacts on non-target organisms. Emerging strategies such as Spray-Induced Gene Silencing (SIGS), Host-Induced Gene Silencing (HIGS), and trans-kingdom RNAi have expanded the potential applications of RNAi in plant protection and invasive weed control. Mycoherbicides, based on phytopathogenic fungi, provide an attractive platform for RNAi delivery and enhanced weed suppression. Fungal genera including Acremonium, Colletotrichum, Phytophthora, Alternaria, and Fusarium have demonstrated potential for the biological control of aquatic weeds and may serve as vehicles for RNAi-mediated gene silencing. The integration of RNAi technology with mycoherbicidal fungi could enable the development of next-generation bioherbicides that combine fungal pathogenicity with precise molecular targeting, resulting in improved efficacy, host specificity, and environmental compatibility. This review examines current advances in RNAi technology and its potential integration with mycoherbicides for aquatic weed management. Major topics include the biology and impacts of invasive aquatic weeds, molecular mechanisms of RNAi, target gene selection, fungal candidates for mycoherbicide development, trans-kingdom RNAi, nanotechnology-assisted delivery systems, biosafety considerations, and regulatory challenges. Future opportunities and research priorities for the development of RNAi-based mycoherbicides are also discussed. The convergence of RNAi biotechnology, fungal biocontrol, genomics, and advanced formulation technologies offers promising prospects for sustainable and species-specific management of invasive aquatic weeds in India and worldwide.
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📚 How to Cite:
Dr Ajay Kumar Singh, Akhilesh Kumar Pandey , RNA INTERFERENCE-BASED MYCOHERBICIDES FOR AQUATIC WEED MANAGEMENT: SCIENTIFIC BASIS, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, AND FUTURE PROSPECTS , Volume 11 , Issue 6, June 2026, EPRA International Journal of Research & Development (IJRD) , Pages: 379 - 396 ,