Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics Approaches for Improving Fusarium Wilt Resistance in Major Grain Legumes

Abstract

Fusarium wilt (FW) disease is the key constraint to grain legume production worldwide. The projected climate change is likely to exacerbate the current scenario. Of the various plant protection measures, genetic improvement of the disease resistance of crop cultivars remains the most economic, straightforward and environmental-friendly option to mitigate the risk. We begin with a brief recap of the classical genetic efforts that provided first insights into the genetic determinants controlling plant response to different races of FW pathogen in grain legumes. Subsequent technological breakthroughs like sequencing technologies have enhanced our understanding of the genetic basis of both plant resistance and pathogenicity. We present noteworthy examples of targeted improvement of plant resistance using genomics-assisted approaches. In parallel, modern functional genomic tools like RNA-seq are playing a greater role in illuminating the various aspects of plant-pathogen interaction. Further, proteomics and metabolomics have also been leveraged in recent years to reveal molecular players and various signaling pathways and complex networks participating in host-pathogen interaction. Finally, we present a perspective on the challenges and limitations of highthroughput phenotyping and emerging breeding approaches to expeditiously develop FW-resistant cultivars under the changing climate.

Grass pea natural variation reveals oligogenic resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. pisi

“…These results disclosed a grass pea oligogenic resistance to Fop race 2, corroborating the evidence of a quantitative nature of resistance revealed by the previous phenotypic characterization of this collection of accessions (Sampaio et al, 2021b). As revised by Sampaio et al (2020) and Jha et al (2020), an oligogenic resistance to fusarium wilt has been described in several other legumes. Examples are chickpea, for some races of Fo f. sp.…”

Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals Genomic Regions Associated with Fusarium Wilt Resistance in Common Bean

“…Despite the experiments with both strains being conducted in few experiments under controlled conditions, some of the QTL identified in this study are confirmed by the literature, evidencing the robustness of results. However, the successful establishment of disease by the Fop pathogen demands a response in the plant defense system, and the entire molecular mechanism of pathogenesis remains to be elucidated to improve selective accuracy with additional experiments involving high-throughput phenotyping [ 85 , 86 ].…”

Pea Breeding for Resistance to Rhizospheric Pathogens

“…Fungi show survival plasticity in most soil conditions, through the formation of thick-walled chlamydospores that can hibernate in the soil for years. This persistence is further enhanced through aggressive saprophytic mode in host plant debris and via released microconidia and macroconidia, which aid new infections and dispersal [ 60 , 66 ]. Therefore, a clear understanding of the disease cycle and mode of spread is required for the efficient implementation of diagnostic and control strategies.…”