A new roadmap for the breeding of disease-resistant and high-yield crops

Breeding of disease-resistant and high-yield crops is essential to meet the increasing food demand of the global population. However, the breeding of such crops remains a significant challenge for scientists and breeders. Two recent discoveries may help to overcome this challenge: the discovery of a novel molecular framework to fine-tune disease resistance and yields that includes epigenetic regulation of antagonistic immune receptors, and the discovery of a Ca(2+) sensor-mediated immune repression network that enables the transfer of subspecies-specific and broad-spectrum disease resistance. These breakthroughs provide a promising roadmap for the future breeding of disease resistant crops.