Identification of virulence associated milRNAs and their bidirectional targets in Rhizoctonia solani and maize during infection

Anastomosis group 1 IA (AG1-IA) of Rhizoctonia solani is the major agent of banded leaf and sheath blight (BLSB) disease that causes severe yield loss in many worldwide crops. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~ 22 nt noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression levels by mRNA degradation or translation inhibition.