Exploiting Broad-Spectrum Disease Resistance in Crops: From Molecular Dissection to Breeding

• Published in: Annual review of plant biology Vol. 71; no. 1; pp. 575 - 603
• Main Authors: Li, Wei, Deng, Yiwen, Ning, Yuese, He, Zuhua, Wang, Guo-Liang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Annual Reviews 29.04.2020; Annual Reviews, Inc
• Subjects: Breeding; broad-spectrum resistance; Crop diseases; Crop yield; Crops; Crops, Agricultural - genetics; Cultivars; Disease resistance; Disease Resistance - genetics; Dissection; durable resistance; Food security; Food selection; Gene mapping; Genes; Humans; Leucine; molecular breeding; NLR; nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat receptor; Nucleotides; Pathogenesis; Pathogenesis-related proteins; Pathogens; Pattern recognition; pattern recognition receptor; Pattern recognition receptors; Plant breeding; Plant diseases; Plant Diseases - genetics; plant immunity; QTL; Quantitative trait loci; Receptors; susceptibility gene; broad-spectrum resistance; nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat receptor; susceptibility gene; NLR; durable resistance; QTL; molecular breeding; pattern recognition receptor; plant immunity
• ISSN: 1543-5008; 1545-2123
• DOI: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-010720-022215

Plant diseases reduce crop yields and threaten global food security, making the selection of disease-resistant cultivars a major goal of crop breeding. Broad-spectrum resistance (BSR) is a desirable trait because it confers resistance against more than one pathogen species or against the majority of races or strains of the same pathogen. Many BSR genes have been cloned in plants and have been found to encode pattern recognition receptors, nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat receptors, and defense-signaling and pathogenesis-related proteins. In addition, the BSR genes that underlie quantitative trait loci, loss of susceptibility and nonhost resistance have been characterized. Here, we comprehensively review the advances made in the identification and characterization of BSR genes in various species and examine their application in crop breeding. We also discuss the challenges and their solutions for the use of BSR genes in the breeding of disease-resistant crops.