Understanding sheath blight resistance in rice: the road behind and the road ahead

Abstract

Rice sheath blight disease, caused by the basidiomycetous necrotroph Rhizoctonia solani,became one of the major threats to the rice cultivation worldwide, especially after the adoptionof high-yielding varieties. The pathogen is challenging to manage because of its extensivelybroad host range and high genetic variability and also due to the inability to find any satisfactorylevel of natural resistance from the available rice germplasm. It is high time to find remedies tocombat the pathogen for reducing rice yield losses and subsequently to minimize the threat toglobal food security. The development of genetic resistance is one of the alternative means toavoid the use of hazardous chemical fungicides. This review mainly focuses on the effort ofbetter understanding the host–pathogen relationship, finding the gene loci/markers impartingresistance response and modifying the host genome through transgenic development. The latestdevelopment and trend in the R. solani–rice pathosystem research with gap analysis areprovided