Disease resistance refers to the ability of a plant to restrict, slow down, or prevent the development of disease after exposure to a pathogen. It's an important trait that plant breeders select for to help reduce crop losses from diseases.
There are two main types of disease resistance in plants:
- Vertical resistance - Protects the plant from specific strains of a pathogen. It is controlled by R genes which recognize effector molecules made by the pathogen. This triggers localized programmed cell death which stops pathogen growth.
- Horizontal resistance - Provides broad, durable resistance against multiple strains of a pathogen. It's a quantitative trait under polygenic control. Many genes each make a small contribution to reduce the growth and reproduction of pathogens.
Disease resistance can be achieved through conventional breeding approaches or biotechnological techniques. Breeders select parent plants with strong resistance and cross them to develop resistant varieties. Genetic engineering also enables transfer of R genes between species to develop resistant transgenic crops.
Some key benefits of disease resistant cultivars include:
- Increased crop yield and quality - The crop is protected from pathogen damage so more harvestable plant material is produced.
- Reduced pesticide usage - Less chemical sprays are required to control diseases. This has economic and environmental benefits.
- Durability - Especially with horizontal resistance, the broad-spectrum protection can last for many growing seasons.
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Disease resistance genes can lose their effectiveness over time as pathogen populations adapt and evolve to overcome host defenses. The genes must then be continually replaced by new sources of resistance from crossing or genetic engineering. This is why breeding disease resistant crops is a continual effort.
Some key challenges with disease resistance breeding include:
- Identifying good sources of resistance genes
- Stacking multiple R genes to enable more durable broad-spectrum resistance
- Unintended effects on crop yield, quality and agronomic traits
- Lack of resistance against evolving new strains of pathogens
Researchers use cutting-edge biotechnologies like
genomics,
transcriptomics and
gene editing to better understand plant-pathogen interactions. This enables more precise development of resistant cultivars with minimal impacts on other agronomic traits.
In summary, incorporating strong
disease resistance is crucial for developing high-yielding and robust crop varieties. Both traditional breeding and biotech approaches have important roles to play in generating resistant germplasm. Managing plant diseases through genetic resistance helps reduce yield losses while lowering chemical control costs and environmental impact.