biostudies-literatureUnknown16Zhang M<i>Blumeria graminis</i> f. sp. <i>tritici</i> (<i>Bgt</i>), the causal agent of wheat powdery mildew, poses a significant threat to global wheat production. As an obligate biotroph, <i>Bgt</i> is recalcitrant to stable genetic manipulation. Although host-induced gene silencing has been used for gene function studies, it remains ineffective for targeting genes active during pre-penetration stages. Consequently, the functional roles of many <i>Bgt</i> genes during pre-penetration stages remain largely unexplored. In this study, the feasibility of spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS) to characterize gene function during pre-penetration stages was evaluated. The results demonstrated that <i>Bgt</i> conidia and germ tubes efficiently took up environmental double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), enabling tFrontiers in plant science1628068https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12239746biostudies-literatureSpray-induced gene silencing enables the characterization of gene function during pre-penetration stages in &lt;i&gt;Blumeria graminis&lt;/i&gt; f. sp. &lt;i&gt;tritici&lt;/i&gt;.PMC12239746Zhou MLi XWang AFan JJia YZhang MLiu TZhou YLiu WfalseSpray-induced gene silencing enables the characterization of gene function during pre-penetration stages in &lt;i&gt;Blumeria graminis&lt;/i&gt; f. sp. &lt;i&gt;tritici&lt;/i&gt;.<i>Blumeria graminis</i> f. sp. <i>tritici</i> (<i>Bgt</i>), the causal agent of wheat powdery mildew, poses a significant threat to global wheat production. As an obligate biotroph, <i>Bgt</i> is recalcitrant to stable genetic manipulation. Although host-induced gene silencing has been used for gene function studies, it remains ineffective for targeting genes active during pre-penetration stages. Consequently, the functional roles of many <i>Bgt</i> genes during pre-penetration stages remain largely unexplored. In this study, the feasibility of spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS) to characterize gene function during pre-penetration stages was evaluated. The results demonstrated that <i>Bgt</i> conidia and germ tubes efficiently took up environmental double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), enabling t2025-01-01T00:00:00Z20252026-07-15T10:54:50.7Z2026-07-03T03:15:43.649ZS-EPMC122397464063602010.3389/fpls.2025.1628068