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Researchers at the University of Georgia have identified a promising approach to addressing a longstanding challenge for plant geneticists: balancing disease resistance and growth in plants.

The breakthrough could help protect plants from disease in the future while also promoting higher biomass yields to support sustainable food supplies for both humans and animals, production of biofuels and lumber, and more, according to the new study. The paper is published in The Plant Cell journal.

"Combating pathogens has been a top challenge in agriculture," said C.J. Tsai, corresponding author of the study and a professor in UGA's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "Solutions that balance disease resistance and growth are much needed, especially with the ever-increasing disease pressure due to climate change."

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