Genomics Approaches to Biotic Stress Resistance

Abstract

Sorghum productivity around the world is influenced by a wide array of biotic and abiotic constraints, some of which cause significant economic losses. Great efforts have been made in the past to improve plant resistance to biotic stresses such as insect pests, diseases, and parasitic weeds through breeding and genetic engineering. However, limited success has been achieved owing to the genetic complexity of stress responses. The application of marker-assisted breeding and transgenics will help to address this challenge more effectively. Genomic approaches such as high-throughput sequencing and large-scale genotyping technologies have been used in germplasm diversity analysis, genetic linkage mapping, association studies, and marker-assisted selection to improve sorghum biotic stress resistance. This chapter presents genomics-assisted methods that have helped in understanding diversity in sorghum germplasm resources and resistance against major insect pests, diseases, and parasitic weeds. Furthermore, the chapter deals with the progress in identification and deployment of gene and quantitative trait locus (QTL) for biotic stress resistance.