Phytotoxins as tools in breeding and selection of disease-resistant plants

Conventional plant breeding for resistance to pathogens, although successful, is in many cases still too slow to keep pace with pathogen adaptation, and suffers from the lack of genetic variability in cultivated varieties. Phytotoxins, because of their role in disease development, have been proposed as convenient markers for early screening of resistant genotypes and as selective agents for in vitro selection. The present review summarizes, firstly, the evidence for a genetic correlation between tolerance to toxins and resistance to pathogens, with particular reference to host-selective toxins (HST) and factors affecting early screening. There follows a discussion of results obtained from the use of phytotoxins for in vitro selection of resistant plants. The conclusion is drawn that this practice, while potentially useful in the case of HST, leads to contradictory results when ill-defined toxins or culture filtrates are used. Finally, prospects for future research are adumbrated.