Plant innate immunity depends on recognition of pathogen effectors and triggering of host defenses. Plant resistance (R)-genes (NLR genes) encode a major class of innate immune receptors. Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) guide gene silencing and play essential regulatory roles in development, genome function and host defense. We discovered novel miRNA families whose members silence NLR-genes including those encoding resistance to major pathogens of Solanaceae crops.
