Host Plant Resistance Mechanisms against Fungal Pathogens

Crop plants are constantly exposed to diverse biotic stress during their lifetime. Fungal pathogens are predominant inducers of biotic stress and account for 80-85% of known diseases leading to significant yield losses. Host plant resistance against fungal pathogens is due to diverse factors such as plant genetic background, physiological status, agroecological, and environmental conditions. In addition, microbiome associated with host plants has also been shown to contribute to resistance by producing metabolites that modulate host plant defense pathways or exhibit antimicrobial properties. The advancement in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology for genome/RNA sequencing and modern analytical approaches such as proteomics, metabolomics, and interactomics have helped define host plant resistance mechanisms. These technological advances have made possible the introgression of resistance traits into agronomically important varieties by traditional or molecular breeding methods. Recently, the application of highly sophisticated biotechnological tools using RNAi, CRISPR-Cas9-based gene editing has enabled us to precisely manipulate the integration and expression of key genes for enhanced host resistance.

This Research Topi welcomes all article types published by Frontiers in Plant Science on host plant-fungal interaction in the following disciplines:

• Identification of genome elements contributing to host resistance and/or susceptibility
• Functional validation of genes associated with resistance and/or susceptibility
• Role of small RNAs (sRNAs) in host resistance
• Transgenic expression, genome editing, RNAi to improve host resistance
• Identification of proteins, metabolites, and associated gene networks using resistant genotypes
• Role of host plant microbiome in preharvest or post-harvest disease control

Please note: Frontiers in Plant Science does not accept solely descriptive studies - studies which report responses to treatments and descriptive reports of ‘Omics studies will not be considered if they do not progress biological understanding of these responses.