What is disease resistance?
Disease resistance refers to the ability of a plant to limit or prevent infection and reproduction of pathogens. There are several types of disease resistance in plants:
- Horizontal resistance - provides resistance against some races of a pathogen but not all races. This type of resistance is generally race-specific and controlled by one or a few genes.
- Vertical resistance - protects the plant against all races of a pathogen. This resistance is durable, broad-spectrum and usually controlled by multiple genes.
- Induced resistance - occurs when the plant activates its immune system in response to biotic or abiotic triggers. This can provide broad-spectrum resistance against multiple pathogens. Common triggers for induced resistance include plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, hormones like salicylic acid, and natural compounds.
There are a few common mechanisms that plants utilize to defend themselves against pathogens:
- Structural defenses - waxy layers on leaves, bark on stems and roots that act as physical barriers.
- Antimicrobial compounds - Phytoanticipins and phytoalexins that directly inhibit or kill pathogens.
- Hypersensitive response - programmed death of infected plant cells to restrict the pathogen.
In developing disease resistant crop varieties, plant breeders often introgress resistance genes from wild relatives into domesticated crops through breeding. Genetic engineering provides another tool for introducing resistance genes across species boundaries.
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