Plantibody-based disease resistance in plants

Abstract

Crop diseases represent a significant threat to our food supply and are therefore of great economic importance. These diseases have been with us for as long as plants have been cultivated. However, intensified land use, monoculture, and modern crop cultivation methods have favored disease outbreaks on a large scale. Such outbreaks can have devastating economical and sociopolitical effects, and may even result in famine (Agrios, 1997). It is estimated that 10-15% of worldwide crop production is lost to pathogens and the effects of pathogens (Rangaswami, 1983).