Recent developments toward achieving fungal disease resistance in transgenic plants

Abstract

Considerable progress has been made in the use of genetic engineering techniques to enhance fungal disease resistance in plants. As a result, a greater understanding of signaling pathways and molecules elicited by pathogen infection has been achieved. Furthermore, manipulation of signaling pathways involved in plant defense has been demonstrated. The expression of a number of disease-resistance (R) genes in transgenic plants has been illustrated. Strategies to detoxify microbial products involved in fungal pathogenicity have provided promising results. The continued use of naturally occurring and synthetic antimicrobial compounds has yielded interesting findings. The future potential of genetic engineering technology remains promising given the recent scientific advances that have been made in enhancing resistance to a broad range of pathogens in many plant species. Furthermore, the basic understanding of the interactions between fungal pathogens and their host plants has been greatly enhanced.