Maize Genomics and Genetics 2025, Vol.16, No.2, 98-107 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/mgg 104 Inghelandt et al., 2012; Rashid et al., 2020). In other words, the results we get in the experimental field may not work when we move them to different agricultural areas. This makes "promotion and application" a lot more troublesome. 6.3 Where should the research go next? How should future research be done? There are two key directions. One is that the genetic resources should be richer, and we should not always focus on the limited types of materials. Introducing some germplasm resources from other regions may allow us to discover new disease resistance genes (Welz and Geiger, 2000; Zhu et al., 2022). Another thing is that multi-environment repeated experiments must be done, and we cannot just look at single-point results. In addition, gene editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 are becoming more and more mature. With the help of high-throughput phenotyping tools, it is hoped that which genes really play a role in disease resistance can be found out more quickly. Another point to note is that qualitative resistance and quantitative resistance cannot be neglected. Genes such as Htn1, although not "completely preventive", can delay the development of diseases and are actually very valuable in breeding (Hurni et al., 2015). Therefore, combining different types of resistance genes may be more conducive to achieving broad-spectrum and lasting resistance. Finally, this matter cannot be solved by a group of researchers alone. Breeding experts, farmers, and technology promotion departments must work together to truly "plant" the results of the laboratory in the fields. After all, improving disease resistance is not just to reduce disease losses, but also to ensure stable corn production and food security in the future. 7 Future Prospects of Maize Disease Resistance Research 7.1 Innovation of molecular marker technology and its application in disease resistance breeding Speaking of plant breeding, molecular marker technology has indeed brought about great changes, especially the improvement of maize disease resistance. Methods such as marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection (GS) are becoming increasingly important. They allow breeders to quickly select materials with strong disease resistance potential from a large population without wasting too much time and resources. Coupled with the current high-density marker array combined with large-scale phenotypic data in different environments, this greatly enhances the accuracy of breeding (Yang et al., 2017; Miedaner et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2021). However, not all disease resistance genes are so easy to find. With the continuous improvement of molecular marker technologies such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and quantitative trait loci (QTLs), we can understand the genetic background of disease resistance traits in more detail. This is particularly critical for the precise positioning and cloning of disease resistance genes, especially for the study of quantitative disease resistance (QDR) mechanisms. It is foreseeable that with these tools, breeding for resistance to northern corn leaf spot (NCLB) and other diseases will achieve results more quickly (Lanubile et al., 2017; Yang et al., 2017; Zhu et al., 2021). 7.2 The potential of gene editing and CRISPR technology in enhancing disease resistance traits In recent years, the emergence of gene editing technology, especially CRISPR/Cas9, has opened up new avenues for disease resistance breeding. It allows us to precisely modify the corn genome, such as knocking out genes that make corn susceptible to diseases, or introducing disease resistance genes through non-GMO methods. In fact, this technology has shown great potential in the study of fighting against a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi (Bisht et al., 2019; Yin and Qiu, 2019; Ahmad et al., 2020; Zaidi et al., 2020). Of course, the use of CRISPR is not limited to simply knocking out genes. It can also be used to adjust the interaction between pathogen effectors and plant targets, and even design synthetic immune receptors, or intervene in the action of antagonistic defense hormones. These complex operations are expected to enable corn to obtain a
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==