Molecular Microbiology Research, 2025, Vol.15, No.2, 82-92 http://microbescipublisher.com/index.php/mmr 90 Field tests are done through the national disease monitoring network. These tests show that lines with multiple resistance genes perform well across regions, proving the effectiveness of gene pyramiding (Li et al., 2022). 6.2 Representative resistant varieties and practical effectiveness In terms of breeding material selection, institutions such as the China National Rice Research Institute and Wuhan University have focused on elite indica and japonica rice lines, integrating major and recessive blast resistance genes to develop several varieties suitable for large-scale cultivation. For instance, Hua Hui 1 and Ming Hui 63 incorporate genes such as Pi1, Pi2, and Pita, and have been widely used in hybrid rice due to their strong combining ability and high resistance. Wu Jing 26 and Wu Jing 28, on the other hand, combine Pi9 with bsr-d1, offering both disease resistance and commercial value, making them popular among growers in southern japonica rice regions (Sahu et al., 2022). The application of new technologies has also injected vitality into resistance improvement. In recent years, some local breeding programs have used CRISPR/Cas9 to knock out susceptible genes such as Pi21, resulting in highly resistant materials that have shown stable blast resistance across multi-location field trials (Yang et al., 2023). Systematic inoculation tests conducted by the National Rice Pest and Disease Monitoring Network have demonstrated that pyramided gene varieties exhibit excellent resistance across various ecological zones and pathogen races, while maintaining high yield and desirable agronomic traits. These results verify the practical effectiveness of the blast resistance breeding system. 7 Future Trends and Integrated Breeding Strategies Due to climate change and pathogen evolution, new challenges arise. Future breeding must focus on multi-disease resistance, gene stacking, and smart selection to maintain resistance while keeping good yield traits. Field often faces multiple diseases at the same time. So, new varieties need combined resistance. This can be done by stacking broad-spectrum genes like Pi9, Xa23, Xa13, or editing multiple susceptibility genes (Younas et al., 2024). Climate change also shifts disease areas and timing. Traditional evaluation systems may not reflect real field conditions. We need a “dynamic evaluation” system that uses phenotyping, pathogen monitoring, and field data to assess resistance over time. Also, it is important to select varieties that stay resistant in hot and humid conditions. These “climate-resilient” varieties will help reduce farming risks in the future. Acknowledgements The publisher sincerely thanks Dr. Dan Huang from the Institute of Life Science, Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University for her professional support. We also thank the two anonymous peer reviewers for their thorough review and helpful suggestions on this manuscript. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The authors confirm that the study was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships and could be interpreted as a potential conflict of interest. References Cai Y., Wei T., Yu L., Chen Z., Shi W., Gao P., Wei T., Yu L., Chen Z.C., Shi W., Gao P., Zhu S.H., Pan C.H., Wang Z.P., Huang N.S., Li Y.H., Zhang X.X., and Li A., 2025, Dissection of resistance loci to bacterial leaf streak in rice by a genome-wide association study, Agronomy, 15(3): 591. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030591 Campo S., Sánchez‐Sanuy F., Camargo‐Ramírez R., Gómez‐Ariza J., Baldrich P., Campos‐Soriano L., and San Segundo B., 2021, A novel transposable element‐derived microRNA participates in plant immunity to rice blast disease, Plant Biotechnology Journal, 19(9): 1798-1811. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13592 Huang Z., Jiang M., Sun L., Zhang J., Jiang C., Lu A., and Sun W., 2024, Exploiting susceptibility genes in rice: from molecular mechanism to application, Phytopathology Research, 6(1): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42483-024-00289-y
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