中文摘要：

已证实在植物寄生线虫中存在RNA干扰（RNAi）现象，当寄生前的线虫幼虫或卵吸取能激发系统RNA干扰反应的双链RNA后，能诱导特定类型细胞中的基因表达沉默。RNAi将成为基因组范围内鉴定基因功能的有力工具，可以帮助更好地了解植物寄生线虫。最近的研究描述了RNAi技术在植物寄生线虫中的作用机制、途径、表现型的决定、专化性和持久性等。研究进展表明，植物双链RNA表达靶定的线虫基因能够成功地诱导线虫基因沉默。

英文摘要：

RNA interference （RNAi） has been demonstrated in plant parasitic nematodes. Genes expressed in a range of cell types are silenced when pre-parasitic juvenile nematodes take up double-stranded （ds） RNA that elicits a systemic RNAi response. It is a potentially powerful investigative tool for the genome-wide identification of gene function and understanding plant parasitic nematodes. Recent studies have described its application to the mechanism, route, characterization, efficacy and durability in plant parasitic nematodes. Important developments show that plant expression of a dsRNA targeting a nematode gene can successfully induce silencing in parasitizing nematodes.