Biotechnological Approaches toward Blast Disease Resistance in Finger Millet
Rushikesh Sanjay Mane
Department of AB and MB, CBSH, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur- 848125, Bihar, India.
Bishun Deo Prasad *
Department of AB and MB, CBSH, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur- 848125, Bihar, India.
Sangita Sahni
Department of Plant Pathology, TCA, Dholi, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur- 848125, Bihar, India.
Zeba Quaiyum
Department of AB and MB, CBSH, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur- 848125, Bihar, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Plant disease globally causes significant losses in crop production that hindering the urgent need for a 60% increase in food demand. The main impact is reduced food quantity and quality leading to compromised food safety from pesticides and toxins. Biotechnology is essential for protecting crop yield and enhancing sustainability in agriculture. Agricultural biotechnology has advanced offering options for understanding plant molecular mechanisms and breeding. The devastating finger millet blast disease caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae affects crop growth and yield leading to instability due to breakdown of blast resistance. Novel strategies are essential for sustainable finger millet production focusing on breeding techniques such as molecular markers, expressed sequence tags (ESTs), gene expression profiling, genome-wide association studies, and genetic transformations to develop new disease-resistance varieties. This comprehensive review explores current breeding strategies and future directions that may offers insights for effective disease control and optimizing finger millet productivity.
Keywords: Finger millet, Magnaporthe oryzae, QTLs, genotyping by sequencing (GBS)