Engineering pathogen resistance in crop plants: current trends and future prospects

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Biotechnology
• Genetics

Background:

• Pathogens significantly limit crop yields globally.
• Transgenic crops offer potential solutions, but disease resistance is underrepresented.
• Genetically modified (GM) crops with disease resistance traits are a small fraction of commercialized varieties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the socioeconomic and biological factors contributing to the limited commercialization of transgenic disease-resistant crops.
• To analyze the trends in genetic strategies employed for disease resistance in GM crops undergoing field trials.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature and field trial data concerning transgenic crops.
• Analysis of genetic mechanisms used for disease resistance against bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
• Examination of trends in GM crop development over the past 15 years.

Main Results:

• Transgenic disease-resistant plants constitute about 10% of North American field trials, a stable proportion over 15 years.
• Antimicrobial proteins are common in GM crops resistant to bacteria and fungi.
• Coat protein (CP) gene expression is prevalent in virus-resistant GM crops, with increasing use of RNA interference and signal transduction pathways.

Conclusions:

• Technical solutions for transgenic disease resistance exist but face barriers to market entry.
• Sophisticated genetic strategies, including RNA interference, are emerging for enhanced crop protection.
• Further research into socioeconomic factors is needed to facilitate the adoption of GM disease-resistant crops.