scholarly journals A new roadmap for the breeding of disease-resistant and high-yield crops

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiming Wang ◽  
Soumeng Dong

AbstractBreeding of disease-resistant and high-yield crops is essential to meet the increasing food demand of the global population. However, the breeding of such crops remains a significant challenge for scientists and breeders. Two recent discoveries may help to overcome this challenge: the discovery of a novel molecular framework to fine-tune disease resistance and yields that includes epigenetic regulation of antagonistic immune receptors, and the discovery of a Ca2+ sensor-mediated immune repression network that enables the transfer of subspecies-specific and broad-spectrum disease resistance. These breakthroughs provide a promising roadmap for the future breeding of disease resistant crops.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eram Sultan ◽  
Kalpana Dalei ◽  
Prashant Singh ◽  
Binod Bihari Sahu

A plant species is infected by handful of pathogenic organism despite the fact that it is constantly exposed to innumerable pathogens. The chemical anti-bio agents exploited against these pathogens were harmful to environment and human health as well. So the only alternative way is to grow disease resistant varieties of crops by introducing resistant (R) genes. However, new pathogenic races evolve constantly and are notorious for their ability to withstand race specific resistance mediated by R-genes . Plants deploy robust, broad-spectrum and durable resistance mechanisms called nonhost resistance (NHR) against most pathogenic organisms. Such disease resistance mechanisms are nonspecific and effective against all nonhost or non-adaptive pathogens. The NHR defence response includes production of phytoalexins and other antimicrobial compounds, hypersensitive response by rapid localized cell death, deposition of callose and expression of pathogenesis related genes at the site of infection that restricts further growth of pathogen. Although NHR has immense potential to improve crop production in agriculture, very little is known about the mechanism of NHR and its genetic pathways at molecular level. Detail knowledge about the NHR genes from a nonhost plant and engineering the NHR gene into the host plant will be helpful in making broad-spectrum and durable disease resistant crops. In this mini review, we report the list of NHR genes and their function against various phytopathogens. We further report a method to identify or map putative NHR gene/s in Arabidopsis against soybean pathogen Phytophthora sojae nonhost with a goal to improve disease resistance in crop species.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Liu ◽  
Fenyun Zhang ◽  
Xingxing Luo ◽  
Deyan Kong ◽  
Anning Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The two-line method based on the photoperiod and thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) lines is more cost-effective, simple, and efficient than the three-line system based on cytoplasmic male-sterility (CMS). Blast and drought are the most prevalent biotic and abiotic stress factors that hamper rice production, respectively. Molecular techniques demonstrate higher efficacy in the pyramiding of disease resistance genes, providing green performance under the background of water-saving and drought-resistance rice.Results: This work employed molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS), conventional hybridization and high-intensity stress screening to integrate the broad-spectrum blast resistance genes Pi9, Pikh, and Pi5 into Huhan 1S. Subsequently a novel water-saving and drought-resistance rice (WDR) PTGMS line Huhan 74S was developed. The drought resistance of the new PTGMS line Huhan 74S was comparable to that of Huhan 1S. The artificial inoculation of 14 blast strains revealed that the resistance frequency of Huhan 74S was 85.7%. Based on the conditions of natural field induction, Huhan 74S and its hybrid combination revealed satisfactory resistance to leaf and neck blast. The identification outcomes of photo-thermal characteristics showed that the critical point of Huhan 74S fertility conversion had an average daily temperature of 23℃, and the stable sterile period in Shanghai lasted 51 days. The rice quality of Huhan 74S was grade 3 based on standards issued by the ministry. Also, both the agronomic and rice quality performances adhered to the conditions of two-line hybrid rice production.Conclusion: The newly bred PTGMS line Huhan 74S demonstrated a stable and lasting resistance to blast. Moreover, the hybrid combination showed a high yield potential and can be used in the breeding of high-yield, high-quality, disease-resistance two-line hybrid water-saving and drought-resistance rice (WDR), hence promoting sustainable rice production in China.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (27) ◽  
pp. e2026152118
Author(s):  
Daniela Paula de Toledo Thomazella ◽  
Kyungyong Seong ◽  
Rebecca Mackelprang ◽  
Douglas Dahlbeck ◽  
Yu Geng ◽  
...  

Plant diseases are among the major causes of crop yield losses around the world. To confer disease resistance, conventional breeding relies on the deployment of single resistance (R) genes. However, this strategy has been easily overcome by constantly evolving pathogens. Disabling susceptibility (S) genes is a promising alternative to R genes in breeding programs, as it usually offers durable and broad-spectrum disease resistance. In Arabidopsis, the S gene DMR6 (AtDMR6) encodes an enzyme identified as a susceptibility factor to bacterial and oomycete pathogens. Here, we present a model-to-crop translational work in which we characterize two AtDMR6 orthologs in tomato, SlDMR6-1 and SlDMR6-2. We show that SlDMR6-1, but not SlDMR6-2, is up-regulated by pathogen infection. In agreement, Sldmr6-1 mutants display enhanced resistance against different classes of pathogens, such as bacteria, oomycete, and fungi. Notably, disease resistance correlates with increased salicylic acid (SA) levels and transcriptional activation of immune responses. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SlDMR6-1 and SlDMR6-2 display SA-5 hydroxylase activity, thus contributing to the elucidation of the enzymatic function of DMR6. We then propose that SlDMR6 duplication in tomato resulted in subsequent subfunctionalization, in which SlDMR6-2 specialized in balancing SA levels in flowers/fruits, while SlDMR6-1 conserved the ability to fine-tune SA levels during pathogen infection of the plant vegetative tissues. Overall, this work not only corroborates a mechanism underlying SA homeostasis in plants, but also presents a promising strategy for engineering broad-spectrum and durable disease resistance in crops.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eram Sultan ◽  
Kalpana Dalei ◽  
Prashant Singh ◽  
Binod Bihari Sahu

A plant species is infected by handful of pathogenic organism despite the fact that it is constantly exposed to innumerable pathogens. The chemical anti-bio agents exploited against these pathogens were harmful to environment and human health as well. So the only alternative way is to grow disease resistant varieties of crops by introducing resistant (R) genes. However, new pathogenic races evolve constantly and are notorious for their ability to withstand race specific resistance mediated by R-genes . Plants deploy robust, broad-spectrum and durable resistance mechanisms called nonhost resistance (NHR) against most pathogenic organisms. Such disease resistance mechanisms are nonspecific and effective against all nonhost or non-adaptive pathogens. The NHR defence response includes production of phytoalexins and other antimicrobial compounds, hypersensitive response by rapid localized cell death, deposition of callose and expression of pathogenesis related genes at the site of infection that restricts further growth of pathogen. Although NHR has immense potential to improve crop production in agriculture, very little is known about the mechanism of NHR and its genetic pathways at molecular level. Detail knowledge about the NHR genes from a nonhost plant and engineering the NHR gene into the host plant will be helpful in making broad-spectrum and durable disease resistant crops. In this mini review, we report the list of NHR genes and their function against various phytopathogens. We further report a method to identify or map putative NHR gene/s in Arabidopsis against soybean pathogen Phytophthora sojae nonhost with a goal to improve disease resistance in crop species.


Author(s):  
Hui Tao ◽  
Xuetao Shi ◽  
Feng He ◽  
Dan Wang ◽  
Ning Xiao ◽  
...  

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Falk ◽  
E. Reinbergs ◽  
G. Meatherall

OAC Elmira is a high-yielding, disease-resistant, hardy winter barley adapted to Southern Ontario. OAC Elmira has good winter hardiness and high hectoliter weight. It has better disease resistance than any of the check cultivars and long straw with a lax, nodding head. It was developed by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food through the Crop Science Department of the University of Guelph. Key words: Hordeum vulgare L., high yield, disease resistance, winter hardiness


PLoS Genetics ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e1003766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carine Huard-Chauveau ◽  
Laure Perchepied ◽  
Marilyne Debieu ◽  
Susana Rivas ◽  
Thomas Kroj ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingyu An ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Jinlu Li ◽  
Rui Yang ◽  
Qianchun Zeng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The molecular mechanism of durable and broad-spectrum resistance to rice blast disease in japonica rice variety is still very little known. Ziyu44, a local japonica rice variety in Yunnan Province of China, has shown durable broad-spectrum blast resistance for more than 30 years, and provides an opportunity for us to explore the molecular basis of broad-spectrum resistance to rice blast in japonica rice variety.Methods and Results: We conducted a comparative study of mycelium growth, aposporium formation, the accumulation of salicylate(SA), jasmonate(JA) and H2O2, the expression of SA- and JA-associated genes between Ziyu44 and susceptible variety Jiangnanxiangnuo (JNXN) upon M. oryzae infection. We found that appressorium formation and invasive hyphae extention were greatly inhibited in Ziyu 44 leaves compared with that in JNXN leaves. Both Ziyu 44 and JNXN plants maintained high levels of baseline SA and did not show increased accumulation of SA after inoculation with M. oryzae, while the levels of baseline JA in Ziyu 44 and JNXN plants were relatively low, and the accumulation of JA exhibited markedly increased in Ziyu 44 plants upon M. oryzae infection. The expression levels of key genes involving JA and SA signaling pathway OsCOI1b, OsNPR1, OsMPK6 as well as pathogenesis-related (PR) genes OsPR1a, OsPR1b and OsPBZ1, were markedly up-regulated in Ziyu44. Conclusions: The level of endogenous JA is critical for synchronous activation of SA and JA signaling pathway, up-regulating PR gene expression and enhancing disease resistance against rice blast in Ziyu44.


2018 ◽  
Vol 218 (2) ◽  
pp. 661-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Sopeña-Torres ◽  
Lucía Jordá ◽  
Clara Sánchez-Rodríguez ◽  
Eva Miedes ◽  
Viviana Escudero ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqsa Parvaiz ◽  
Ghulam Mustafa ◽  
Muhammad Sarwar Khan ◽  
Muhammad Amjad Ali

Background: Resistance Gene Analogues (RGAs) are an important source of disease resistance in crop plants and have been extensively studies for their identification, tagging and mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs). Tracking these RGAs in sugarcane can be of great help for the selection and screening of disease resistant clones. Objective: In the present study expression of different Resistance Gene Analogues (RGAs) was assessed in indigenous elite sugarcane genotypes which include resistant, highly resistant, susceptible and highly susceptible to disease infestation. Methods: Total cellular DNA and RNA were isolated from fourteen indigenous elite sugarcane genotypes. PCR, semi-quantitative RT PCR and real time qPCR analyses were performed. The resultant amplicons were sequence characterized, chromosomal localization and phylogenetic analysis were performed. Result: All of the 15 RGA primers resulted in amplification of single or multiple fragments from genomic DNA whereas only five RGA primers resulted in amplification from cDNA. Sequence characterization of amplified fragments revealed 86-99% similarity with disease resistance proteins indicating their potential role in disease resistance response. Phylogenetic analysis also validated these findings. Further, expression of RGA-012, RGA-087, RGA-118, RGA-533 and RGA-542 appeared to be upregulated and down regulated in disease resistant and susceptible genotypes, respectively, after inoculation with Colletotrichum falcatum. Conclusion: RGAs are present in most of our indigenous genotypes. Anyhow, differential expression of five RGAs indicated that they have some critical role in disease resistance. So, the retrieved results can not only be employed to devise molecular markers for the screening of disease resistant genotypes but can also be used to develop disease resistant plants through transgenic technology.


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