Host‐induced gene silencing of fungal‐specific genes of <i>Ustilaginoidea virens</i> confers effective resistance to rice false smut

Rice false smut (RFS) caused by Ustilaginoidea virens is one of the most important diseases in the majority of rice-growing areas worldwide. Rice false smut causes not only yield loss, but also threatens human or animal health by producing cyclopeptide mycotoxins. Cultivar resistance is the most economical, effective and environmentally friendly approach to control RFS. However, development of RFS-resistant rice cultivar still faces big challenges. In the field, disease severity of RFS is largely affected by rice growth period and variable weather conditions. To date, quite a few cultivars with stable resistance to RFS have been identified and could be used as resistant resource for disease-resistance breeding (Sun et al., 2020).