Plant disease resistance genes: Current status and future directions

Plant diseases can drastically abate the crop yields as the degree of disease outbreak is getting severe around the world. Therefore, plant disease management has always been one of the main objectives of any crop improvement program. Plant disease resistance (R) genes have the ability to detect a pathogen attack and facilitate a counter attack against the pathogen. Numerous plant R-genes have been used with varying degree of success in crop improvement programs in the past and many of them are being continuously exploited. With the onset of recent genomic, bioinformatics and molecular biology techniques, it is quite possible to tame the R-genes for efficiently controlling the plant diseases caused by pathogens. This review summarizes the recent applications and future potential of R-genes in crop disease management.