Role of the Genetic Background in Resistance to Plant Viruses

In view of major economic problems caused by viruses, the development of genetically resistant crops is critical for breeders but remains limited by the evolution of resistance-breaking virus mutants. During the plant breeding process, the introgression of traits from Crop Wild Relatives results in a dramatic change of the genetic background that can alter the resistance efficiency or durability. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis on 19 Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) studies of resistance to viruses in plants. Frequent epistatic effects between resistance genes indicate that a large part of the resistance phenotype, conferred by a given QTL, depends on the genetic background. We next reviewed the different resistance mechanisms in plants to survey at which stage the genetic background could impact resistance or durability. We propose that the genetic background may impair effector-triggered dominant resistances at several stages by tinkering the NB-LRR (Nucleotide Binding-Leucine-Rich Repeats) response pathway. In contrast, effects on recessive resistances by loss-of-susceptibility—such as eIF4E-based resistances—are more likely to rely on gene redundancy among the multigene family of host susceptibility factors. Finally, we show how the genetic background is likely to shape the evolution of resistance-breaking isolates and propose how to take this into account in order to breed plants with increased resistance durability to viruses.