Exploiting susceptibility genes in rice: from molecular mechanism to application

Abstract

Abstract Rice commercial production is seriously threatened by various pathogens. Generally, the susceptibility (S) genes in plants are exploited by phytopathogens to promote infection. Dysfunction of S genes may result in recessively inheritable durable and broad-spectrum disease resistance. In this review, we summarize the latest research on S genes that encode proteins contributing to pathogen infection in rice. The S genes in rice are prospective targets of genome engineering to create resistance germplasms. However, the potential pleiotropic effects resulting from the deletion of S genes limit their application in resistance breeding. The newly developed CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing system offers a promising approach for developing transgene-free rice varieties with durable disease resistance.

Keywords

• Oryza sativa
• Susceptibility genes
• Disease resistance
• Genome editing
• Plant breeding