Inducing Fungus-Resistance into Plants through Biotechnology

Plant diseases are caused by a variety of plant pathogens including fungi, and their management requires the use of techniques like transgenic technology, molecular biology, and genetics. There have been attempts to use gene technology as an alternative method to protect plants from microbial diseases, in addition to the development of novel agrochemicals and the conventional breeding of resistant cultivars. Various genes have been introduced into plants, and the enhanced resistance against fungi has been demonstrated. These include: genes that express proteins, peptides, or antimicrobial compounds that are directly toxic to pathogens or that reduce their growth in situ; gene products that directly inhibit pathogen virulence products or enhance plant structural defense genes, that directly or indirectly activate general plant defense responses; and resistance genes involved in the hypersensitive response and in the interactions with virulence factors. The introduction of the tabtoxin acetyltransferase gene, the stilbene synthase gene, the ribosome-inactivation protein gene and the glucose oxidase gene brought enhanced resistance in different plants. Genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes such as chitinase and glucanase, which can deteriorate fungal cell-wall components, are attractive candidates for this approach and are preferentially used for the production of fungal disease-resistant plants. In addition to this, RNA-mediated gene silencing is being tried as a reverse tool for gene targeting in plant diseases caused by fungal pathogens. In this review, different mechanisms of fungal disease resistance through biotechnological approaches are discussed and the recent advances in fungal disease management through transgenic approach are reviewed.