The rusts are the most damaging diseases of cereal crops, being capable of causing big yield tosses. Cereal breeding for rust resistance has made use of resistance conditioned by one or few major genes. However, the short time which pathogens break this type of host resistance has raised the question ofusing alternative strategies to increase resistance durability. The objective of this review is to discuss aspects of the process of pyramiding genes as a way to increase rust resistance durability. The pyramiding process and durable resistance are discussed in relation to the effectivity of the genes used and the practical limitations of this strategy. The use of DNA markers is pointed as a promising tool for combining several resistance genes in one genotype. Examples of durable resistance are presented and their relation with pyramiding is discussed.
pyramiding; durable resistance; molecular markers; assisted selection