Breeding for biotic and abiotic

stresses
Lecture note: 2
 GROUPS OF PESTS TARGETED BY PLANT BREEDERS

 Six general groups of causal agents, which represent six

general approaches to breeding for pest resistance, may be
identified as: airborne fungi, soil-borne fungi, bacteria,
viruses, nematodes, and insects.

 Plant diseases are caused by pathogens that vary in nature

and may be microscopic or readily visible (e.g., virus, plant,
animal).

 Through an understanding of the biology, epidemics, spread,

and damage caused by these organisms in each category,
breeders have developed certain strategies and methods for
breeding cultivars to resist certain types of biotic stress in plant
production.
 Plant species vary in their susceptibilityto diseases
caused by pathogens or pests in each group.

 Cereal crops tend to have significant airborne fungal disease

problems, while solanaceous species tend to experience viral
attacks.

 Breeding for resistance to fungi, especially airborne fungi, is

the most prominent resistance breeding activity.

 N. W. Simmonds has suggested that the relative importance of

the six groups of pathogens of importance to plant breeders,
might be something like this: airborne fungi > soil-borne fungi
> viruses > bacteria = nematodes= insects.
 What is
A physiological deviation from disease ?
the normal functioning of the organism (i.e., the crop
plant) caused by pathogenic organisms is a disease and may be caused by fungi,
bacteria or viruses.
) Disease is an abnormal condition in the plant produced by an organism or
an environmental factor.

 Disease is a condition where there is physiological disturbance in the

functioning of the plants and it suffers.

“Physiological disorder or structural abnormality that is deleterious to the

plant or to any of its part or products, or that reduces their economic
value.” (Stakman and Harrar,1957).
Or
 Any deviation from normal growth or structure of plants that is
sufficiently pronounced and permanent to produce visible symptoms or to
impair quality and economic value. (Stakman and Harrar ,1957)

“Harmful deviation from normal functioning of physiological processes.”

(Anon,1950
 Plant Disease:
 Clare Kenag (1974): Plant disease as “infectious” or “non-
infectious”

 Infectious plant disease: an abnormal plant condition caused by

biological agencies eg fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes and
are capable of being transmitted from diseased plants to health
plants to cause disease on the latter under favourable
environmental conditions.

 Non-infectious plant disease: an abnormality on plant cause by

agencies such as nutrient deficiencies, weather conditions,
mechanical injury, chemical injury, and effects by hail, wing, frost
lightning and other external factors which are non infectious and
their effects are not transmissible from affected to health plants.
A plant is healthy or normal when it carries out its physiological
functions to the best of its genetic potential. Whenever plants are
disturbed by pathogens or insect pests, one or more of the physiological
functions is interfered with beyond a certain deviation from the normal.
 Disease Resistance

The inherent ability of an organism (i.e., the crop plant) to

endure or resist or withstand the pathogen is called resistance.
Disease resistance commonly met within the plant kingdom
relative in nature, total immunity being too rare. Its hereditary
transmission from parent to off-spring is essentially
“Mendelian”, but often polygenic.
 Losses due to diseases
 Disease reduce biomass (dry matter) & hence Yield. This may
happen in either of the following ways:
 killing of plants (e.g. vascular wilts, various soil borne fungi),
 general stunting caused by metabolic distruption, nutrient drain or
root damage (e.g.many viruses),
 killing of branches (e.g. some fungal diebacks),
 destruction of leaf tissues ( e.g. many rusts, mildews, blights, leaf
spots),
 damage to reproductive organs including fruits & seeds.

 Damage to crop product initiated in the field, but often more apparent after
harvest ( cereal smuts, various rots and borers of fruits and tubers); effects on
quality (insect or fungal blemishes of fruits and tubers)

Often the loss due to diseases may range from a few to 20 or 30 %;

in case of severe infection, the total crop may be lost (Jayaraj,2002 ).
7
 METHODS OF CONTROL OF PLANT PARASITES

1. Exclusion of pathogen from the host. This strategy may use

methods such as legislation (plant quarantine, crop inspection) or
crop isolation to prevent the pathogen or pest from making initial
contact with the host plant.

2. Reduction or elimination of the pathogen’s inoculum. A method

such as crop rotation reduces disease buildup in the field, while
observance of sanitation (e.g., removing diseased plants and
burning them) reduces the spread of the pathogen.

3. Improvement of host resistance. This is the strategy of most

concern to plant breeders. It entails breeding to introduce genetic
resistance into adapted cultivars

4. Protection of the host. Economic plants may be protected from

parasites by using chemicals (pesticides).
 MAJOR FAMINES OR FOOD LOSSES

 The wheatless days (1917’s) in USA, due to stem rust epidemics;

Irish famine (1840’s) due to potato leaf blight epidemics;

Devastation of all Victoria-derived oats (mid 1940’s) in USA due to

fungus causing Victoria blight disease;

Bengal famine (1943’s) due to brown spot (Drechslera oryzae) disease of

rice;

Downy mildew epidemic (1973’s) in pearl millet (c.o. Sclerospora

graminicola) in India ; and

Bacterial blight (X.campestris pv.oryzae) (1980’s) severe out-break in

Panjab (A.P.K.Reddy 1980).
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 Important fungal diseases of major crops in India

Total yield
Crop Pathogen Disease
loss(%)

Rice Pyricularia oryzae Blast 21

Wheat Puccinia recondita Leaf rust 30
Maize Helminthosporium maydis Leaf blight 30
Sorghum Fusarium moniliforme Grain mould 30
Pigeonpea Fusarium udum Wilt 24

Chickpea Fusarium oxysporum Wilt 23

Brassica Alternaria brassicae Blight 30

Soyabean Phakospora packyrhize Rust 23
Potato Phytophthora infestans Late blight 31

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DasGupta et al (2003)
Important viral diseases of crops in India
Crop Disease Yield loss (%) Virus
Cotton Leaf Curl 68-71 Cotton Leaf Curl
Virus
Ground nut Bud necrosis >80 Ground nut bud
necrosis virus
Mungbean Yellow mosaic 21-70 Mungbean yellow
Blackgram mosaic virus
Soybean
Potato Mosaic 85 Potato Virus Y
Rice Rice Tungro 10 Rice Tungro
spherical virus
Sunflower Necrosis 12-17 Sunflower
necrosis virus
Tomato Leaf curl 40-100 Tomato leaf curl
virus
DasGupta et al (2003)

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History of breeding for disease resistance
 Theophrastus (3RD Century B.C): noted that cultivated variety differed in their ability

to avoid diseases.

 Benedict Prevost: diseases are produced by pathogen. He showed that wheat bunt was
produced by a fungus.

 Andrew Knight (Mid 19TH Century):crop varieties differed for disease resistance.

 Biffen(1905):resistance to yellow rust in wheat was governed by a recessive gene

segregating in the ratio 3:1 in F2.

 Erikson (1894):Pathogens, although morphologically similar, differed from each other

in their ability to attack different related host species.

 Barrus (1911) :different isolates of a microorganism differed in there ability to attack

different varieties of the same host species; this finding is the basis for physiological
races &/or pathotypes.

It was subsequently established that the ability of a pathogen to infect a host strain i.e.
PATHOGENECITY is genetically determined. Thus, both the ability of the host to resist12
invasion by the pathogen as well as the ability of the pathogen to invade the host are
genetically controlled.

Flor (1956): Flor postulated the hypothesis of gene-for-gene relationship between host
and pathogen which holds true in most of the cases and is widely accepted.

It was subsequently established that the disease resistance of the host is not the
function of the host genotype alone but is also determined by the genotype of the
pathogen as well.

The host strains differ in resistance while those of the pathogen differ in
pathogenicity, both variations have genetic basis. The pathogen has remarkable
capacity to generate new variations in pathogenicity by a variety of
reproduction methods and mutation.

Thus, the task of the breeder is not only to develop varieties resistant to the
prevalent pathotypes of the pathogen but also to be ready to face the challenge
that is to be posed by new pathogen genotypes in future.

PATHOGEN AND HOST
 The pathogen is a living organism that is capable of inflicting a
distinct disease or disorder in another organism (the host).

 The capacity of the pathogen to cause disease or disorder in a

member of a host species is called its pathogenecity.

 The extent of disease development pathogen causes is its

virulence.

 The pathogenecity and virulence of a pathogen vary among

pathogen types (races or pathotypes).
 Races or pathotypes that fail to cause disease symptoms or
successfully attack a given host are said to be avirulent.

 A third factor – favorable environment – is needed, the trio (pathogen

plus susceptible host plus favorable environment) referred to as the
disease triangle.

 Pathotypes or races of pathogens may also be described in terms of

aggressiveness or non-aggressiveness in relation to the rate at which
they produce disease symptoms.
 The host
The host (genotype, plant) is the organism in which a pathogen may
produce disease symptoms.
 A susceptible host is one in which a pathotype or race can manifest a disease
symptom.
 A host may employ one of several mechanisms (defense mechanisms :
pre-existing and post-infection or infection-induced) to resist pathogens.

Various reactions of hosts to the pathogen may be grouped into:

 Susceptible: disease development is profuse & is presumably not

checked by host genotype. eg. Agra Local susceptible to wheat rust.
r=1

 Immune: host does not show symptoms of a disease (100%

freedom from infection), r=0

 Resistance :less disease than susceptible, r>0 & r<1

 Tolerant: a tolerant cultivar is one which endures disease attack

(R.M.Caldwell
et al. 1958 ) & looks susceptible one (Browning & Frey
Disease Development
Stages of disease development (especially fungal diseases):
 Contact: landing of pathogen on host tissue

 Infection: pathogen gains entry in to the host tissue

 Establishment: pathogen proliferates & spreads within host

tissue

 Development: spore production/multiplication by pathogen &

symptoms developed

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 DISEASE REACTIONS

Various reactions of hosts to the pathogen may be grouped into;

 Susceptible: disease development is profuse & is presumably not

checked by host genotype.eg.Agra Local susceptible to wheat rust.
r=1

 Immune: host does not show symptoms of a disease (100%

freedom from infection), r=0

 Resistance :less disease than susceptible, r>0 & r<1

 Tolerant: a tolerant cultivar is one which endures disease attack (R.M.Caldwell

et al. 1958 ) & looks susceptible one (Browning & Frey 1969).

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 Variability in Plant Pathogens
Plant pathogens show inherited variability, which must always be considered when
breeding for resistance, because new forms may evolve that can attack previously
resistant cultivars. When a progeny of the pathogen exhibits a characteristic that is
different from those present in the parental individual(s), it is called a variant.

• Biotype: progeny developed by variant having similar heredity./ The population

of genetically identical individuals produced by the variant is called a biotype./
Conceptually, a biotype is a population of individuals which are pure (homozygous)
from the genetical point of view.

The biotype with certain common characteristics form a physiological race or strain or
pathotype, this latter being the more common term, although less widely used than
‘physiological race’ to describe individuals which have a particular pathogenicity in
common. Strain is the most common term for variants of plant pathogenic viruses.
The races(or strains) of the plant pathogens are usually distinguished from each
other on the basis of their pathogenicity.

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• Pathogenicity : It is the ability of a pathogen to cause disease

•Pathogenesis : is the chain of events that lead to the development of disease in the host.

•Physiological races : Physiological races are the strains of a single pathogen species
differing in their ability to attack different varieties of the same host
species.
•Pathotype: Population of a parasite species in which all individuals have a
pathogenicity or parasitic ability in common.

Differential Varieties or host testers: The differences in pathogenicity are known on

certain selected cultivars of the host called differential varieties/hosts.
or
The varieties of a host species used to identify physiological races
of a pathogen are known as differential host or host testers.

• Forma specialis or variety : When a group of races of identical morphology attack and
infect a no.of different species of the host, the group is called forma

specialis or variety. Several varieties of the fungus constitutes a

species (botanical species).

• Biotroph: A pathogen that obtains its nutrient supply only from living host tissue.
• Virulence : It is the measure of degree of pathogenicity of an isolate or race of the
pathogen.

The pathogenecity and virulence of a pathogen vary among pathogen types (races or
pathotypes).

• Avirulence: The (near) absence of pathogenicity of a pathogen genotype when it

comes into contact with a host genotype that carries a race-specific
resistance gene corresponding to an avirulence gene of the pathogen
genotype.
Or
Races or pathotypes that fail to cause disease symptoms or
successfully attack a given host are said to be avirulent..

According to Van der Plank (1975), virulence and avirulence in the pathogen are the
counterparts of vertical susceptibility and resistance in the host.

• Aggressiveness: Counterpart of race-non-specific resistance; the ability of a parasite to

invade and grow in its host plant and to reproduce on or in it. The
more aggressive an isolate of a pathogen is the more of the host tissue
it can invade in a given time.
Aggressiveness and unaggressiveness in the pathogen are the
counterparts of horizontal susceptibility and resistance in the
host (Van der Plank, 1975). This is also used as a measure of
pathogenicity.

For disease to occur, the pathogen must be virulent. It may be

virulent and strongly aggressive or virulent and unaggressive
(weekly aggressive