Integrating Disease Resistance and Quality Traits: Deciphering Molecular Crosstalk in Crop Improvement

Plant molecular biology and crop genetics have made significant advances in understanding the mechanisms by which crops respond to biotic stress, such as pathogen attacks. Despite this progress, breeding for disease resistance remains challenging, as efforts to enhance immunity can unintentionally reduce yield and nutritional value—a phenomenon arising from complex trade-offs and genetic linkage drag. A major, unresolved question is how signaling pathways involved in plant defense intersect with metabolic and regulatory networks that drive crop quality and productivity. Recent studies have illuminated various aspects of immune signaling, including pattern-triggered immunity, effector-triggered immunity, and hormone-mediated crosstalk, yet the integrative molecular frameworks that balance defense and desirable agronomic traits are still incompletely defined. There is a substantial need for new research that disentangles the intertwined genetic architectures underlying both biotic stress immunity and crop quality formation.This Research Topic aims to bridge the longstanding divide between breeding for disease resistance and improving crop quality traits. The central objective is to clarify and leverage the genetic and molecular bases that simultaneously govern immune responses and quality-related characteristics in crops. Key questions to be addressed include: which immunity regulators and susceptibility genes can be targeted without detrimental effects on yield or nutrition, and how do hormone signaling networks and epigenetic mechanisms contribute to defense-quality trade-offs? The Research Topic also seeks to advance actionable strategies, such as CRISPR-based gene editing and multi-omics integration, that enable concurrent enhancement of disease resistance and quality. Ultimately, our goal is to equip breeders with molecular tools and frameworks for next-generation crop improvement, supporting sustainable agriculture and consumer demand for high-quality, resilient crops.Within this Research Topic, research is limited to studies that deepen mechanistic understanding and provide translational breeding solutions for integrating disease resistance and quality optimization in crops. We welcome submissions in the form of Original Research, Reviews, and Perspectives addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Dissection of molecular mechanisms underpinning biotic stress resistance, including PTI/ETI pathways, hormone crosstalk, and susceptibility gene (S-gene) editing• Genetic and molecular regulation of nutritional value, metabolite profiles, and consumer-facing quality traits under pathogen pressure• Mechanistic insights into resource allocation, defense-yield/quality trade-offs, and regulatory switches governing the balance between immunity and productivity• Application of CRISPR/Cas systems, genomic selection, and synthetic biology for trait pyramiding and the decoupling of resistance from quality penalties• Utilization of transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics to integrate multi-layered network data connecting stress responses with quality formation Topic editors: Jianyan Zeng, Lei Mei, Komivi Dossa Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79400/integrating-disease-resistance-and-quality-traits-deciphering-molecular-crosstalk-in-crop-improvement