Omics Applications for Pathogen Control and Disease Resistance

As agriculture faces escalating threats from climate change and evolving pathogens, the urgent need to enhance crop disease resistance is undeniable. Omics technologies—encompassing genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics—are transforming our ability to dissect the complex molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying plant-pathogen interactions and plant immune responses. These technologies enable researchers to identify and analyze biomarkers, signaling pathways, and immune responses that play a role in determining plant susceptibility or resistance to pathogens. By integrating data across these omics layers, scientists can pinpoint functional targets for breeding, genetic engineering, or other technological interventions to fortify plant defenses.

Advances in omics tools now allow for high-resolution insights into the genetic, epigenetic, and biochemical dynamics that underpin plant immune responses, nutrient exchanges, and pathogen-induced signaling cascades. For example, genomics has facilitated the discovery of resistance genes, while transcriptomics and proteomics uncover expression patterns and protein interactions crucial to defense mechanisms. Metabolomics and epigenomics add layers of understanding, revealing metabolite profiles and heritable epigenetic changes that shape plant-pathogen dynamics. The integration of these diverse datasets enables researchers to map complex resistance networks, supporting the development of crops with enhanced resilience to pathogen pressure.

However, significant challenges remain in translating omics insights into practical solutions. The sheer volume of data produced by omics studies necessitates advanced bioinformatics and computational models to clarify how these molecular systems function and interact in a real-world context. This Research Topic seeks to consolidate groundbreaking research on how omics applications can advance pathogen control and crop disease resistance, fostering innovations that address both fundamental mechanisms and applied strategies for disease mitigation.

We welcome original research, reviews, methods, perspectives, meta-analyses, and thought-provoking opinions focusing on the following areas:

- Functional analysis of resistance genes and defense pathways using genomics and transcriptomics

- Multi-omics integration (proteomics, metabolomics, epigenomics) to explore complex immune response networks

- Epigenetic regulation of plant immune responses and transgenerational resistance mechanisms

- Molecular communication between plants and pathogens, including signaling metabolites and proteins

- Mechanistic insights into plant immune evasion tactics by pathogens and nutrient exchanges during infection

- Development and application of bioinformatics tools for omics data integration in plant pathology

- Case studies demonstrating the practical application of omics findings to enhance resistance in major crops

- Investigations into how environmental factors impact omics-based disease resistance mechanisms

- Functional modeling of plant immune responses under pathogen attack

- Omics-guided breeding for disease resistance through marker-assisted or genomic selection

- Technological innovations in pathogen control using omics insights

This Research Topic aims to advance our mechanistic understanding of plant-pathogen interactions through omics technologies, promoting novel strategies for pathogen control and sustainable agricultural resilience in the face of pathogen threats.

Keywords: pathogen resistance, plant immune response, multi-omics integration, disease biomarkers, plant-pathogen interactions

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.