As a monocotyledonous plant and one of the most important staple food crops, rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a model plant to study disease resistance in cereal crops. Rice production is seriously threatened by many diseases worldwide, mainly rice blast caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (M. Oryzae) , bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), sheath blight caused by the necrotrophic fungus Rhizoctonia solani (R. solani) false smut caused by the obligate biotrophic fungus Ustilaginoidea virens (Cke.)Tak (U. virens), and several viral diseases including rice tungro virus and rice stripe virus. Similarly, various insect pests and plant parasitic nematodes have also caused economic loss on rice. Over the past 30 years, impressive advancements have been achieved in gene discovery and molecular mechanisms of disease resistance and trade-offs between defense and growth and development. The genomes of M. oryzae, Xoo, R. solani, and U. virens have also been sequenced. This progress greatly facilitated molecular breeding for disease resistance improvement in rice.

Disease and pest resistance has been a major target of rice breeding programs. However, further improvement of the crop has encountered a bottleneck in current breeding programs integrating disease resistance and high yield, mostly due to the lack of useful disease resistance (R) genes and molecular approaches in practical breeding programs. Most of the cloned R genes have limited utilization in rice breeding because of race-specificity. Therefore, the identification and application of novel R genes with broad-spectrum resistance have been a big challenge. In addition, our understanding of the mechanisms and signaling pathways of rice immunity is also limited, in comparison with extensive studies on the dicot model Arabidopsis. Dissecting immune signaling, therefore, is of biological importance as well as critical for breeding practice in rice. This arm of a specific collection of papers is to provide updated information on gene discovery and mechanisms of immunity and disease resistance, pathogen genomics and pathogenicity, cross-talks between disease resistance and development in rice. More importantly, we hope to provide knowledge and technology for rice breeding for improved biotic resistance.

This collection of papers will include all types of research articles, reviews, and perspectives in studies on rice disease and pest resistance/immune responses, and pathogenicity. Authors are welcome to submit their research articles or reviews in the following (but not limited to) areas:

• Discovery of major and QTL genes involved in disease and pest resistance
• Signaling and molecular mechanisms in immune responses
• Susceptibility genes
• Pathogen-host coevolution
• Small RNAs and epigenetic regulation in disease and pest resistance
• Pathogen genomes and pathogenicity
• Emerging pathogens
• Cross-talks between defense and yield trains and abiotic stress
• Molecular breeding and gene editing for disease and pest resistance.
• Resistance to nematodes

Please note that descriptive studies and those defining gene families or descriptive collection of transcripts, proteins, or metabolites, will not be considered for review unless they are expanded and provide mechanistic and/or physiological insights into the biological system or process being studied.

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