Advancements in Plant Breeding for Biotic Stress Resistance in Cereal Crops: A Comprehensive Overview

Current developments in plant breeding techniques used to improve cereals resistance against biotic stress. To overcome the problems provided by biotic stress, the focus is on investigating cutting-edge strategies and techniques that have transformed the area of cereal breeding. The creation of biotic stress-resistant varieties has been greatly accelerated by the introduction of Marker-Assisted Backcrossing (MABC), which enables the controlled transfer of advantageous genes from wild germplasm into elite cultivars. To better understand the genetic basis of resistance traits and support marker-assisted selection in breeding programs, Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have been useful in identifying genetic markers linked to biotic stress resistance. Researchers have been able to decipher intricate gene regulatory networks involved in plant responses against biotic stress using microarray technique; which leads to identifying critical genes and pathways underlying resistance mechanisms. New possibilities for precise genetic alterations in genomes, including as the introduction of novel resistance alleles using allele mining and the targeted disruption of susceptibility genes, have been made possible by genome editing tools like CRISPR/Cas9. Apart from these modern-day techniques, conventional methods such as mutation breeding are still being improved and combined with genomic technologies to create genetic variation and find new alleles that confer resistance to biotic stress. A promising method such as targeted gene silencing and RNA interference (RNAi) technology enables the suppression of genes linked to biotic stress susceptibility and also increases resistance. The improvement of cereal crop varieties resistant against biotic stress has advanced significantly due to the integration of these many breeding tactics and technologies. These new developments have the potential to significantly improve agricultural sustainability and food security by reducing yield losses from biotic stressors and supporting international efforts to improve crops. This review article enlightens the different conventional and advanced breeding techniques used against biotic stress found in cereal crops.