Breeding and management of major resistance genes to stem canker/blackleg in Brassica crops

Abstract

Blackleg (also known as Phoma or stem canker) is a major, worldwide disease of Brassica crop species (e.g. oilseed rape, rapeseed, canola) caused by the ascomycete fungus Leptosphaeria maculans. The outbreak and severity of this disease depend on environmental conditions and management practices such as the use of fungicides and crop rotations, tilling, as well as a complex interaction between the pathogen and its hosts. Genetic resistance is a major method to control the disease (and the only control method in some parts of the world, such as continental Europe), but efficient use of genetic resistance is faced with many difficulties: (i) the scarcity of germplasm/genetic resources available, (ii) the different history of use of resistance genes in different parts of the world and the different populations of the fungus the resistance genes are exposed to, (iii) the complexity of the interactions between the plant and the pathogen, that expand beyond typical gene-for-gene interactions, (iv) the incredible evolutionary potential of the pathogen and the importance of knowing the molecular processes set up by the fungus to “breakdown’ resistances, so that we may design high-throughput diagnostic tools for population surveys, and (v) the different strategies and options to build up the best resistances and to manage them so that they are durable. In this paper, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of these different points, stressing the differences between the different continents and the current prospects to generate new and durable resistances to blackleg disease.