Genome based approaches to identify genetic determinants for disease resilient crops

Developing disease-resilient crops is crucial for safeguarding global food security in the face of rapidly evolving pathogens and the challenges posed by climate change. Genome-based approaches have revolutionized our capacity to dissect and enhance plant immunity by enabling high-resolution identification of the genetic determinants that underlie disease resistance. Advances in whole-genome sequencing, comparative genomics, genome-wide association studies, and pan-genome analyses have facilitated the discovery of resistance genes, mutations, structural variants, and regulatory elements that shape defense responses across diverse germplasm. The integration of multi-omics datasets, including transcriptomics, epigenomics, and metabolomics, has further refined candidate loci and revealed the complex networks governing plant pathogen interactions. Collectively, these advancements provide critical molecular insights and validated genetic markers, accelerating the development of disease-resilient crop varieties through targeted gene identification and high-throughput marker-assisted selection (MAS) in breeding programs. To achieve this goal, the thesis comprises three chapters, each structured as a separate case study.