Molecular breeding technologies and strategies for rust resistance in wheat (Triticum aestivum) for sustained food security

Wheat is an important cereal food crop providing key nutrients to humankind. Rusts are the most destructive pathogens of cereal crops except rice across the world. Resistant cultivars have been widely employed to reduce the yield losses caused by rusts. The modern intensive monoculture of cultivars and changing climatic conditions has created congenial conditions for the emergence of new virulent races like Ug99, which is a great concern for the world food security. The conventional breeding efforts have not been very effective in quickly developing new varieties with durable and broad spectrum resistance against the rapidly evolving rust pathogen races. In the last two decades, biotechnological methods like marker assisted selection (MAS) and transgenic technology have provided novel strategies for enhancing resistance levels and durability in crop plants in a short span of time. However, broad application of transgenics in agriculture is hindered due to biosafety apprehensions. In the recent years, improved versions of biotechnological breeding methods such as genomic selection, genome editing technologies, cisgenesis and intragenesis, RNA-dependent DNA methylation (RdDM), agroinfiltration and reverse breeding are gaining popularity as they provide a tremendous capability to manipulate crop plants precisely than ever before and accelerate the crop improvement efforts for sustained food production as well as overcome the safety concerns associated with food crops. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.