Limitations of Cassava Bacterial Blight: New Advances

Cassava (Manihot esculenta), a starchy root crop, constitutes the source of alimentation for over 600 million people worldwide. Cassava Bacterial Blight (CBB) is caused bythe bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis (Xam). This review will focus on the current knowledge on the molecular cassava-Xam interaction. We will present the different molecular techniques developed to assess the genetic diversity and dynamics of Xam populations. We will also present different methods developed for detecting the pathogen in vegetative planting materials and true seeds and their contribution to reduce the impact of the disease. We will review different studies conducted to gain a better understanding on the molecular mechanisms and the genes involved in the cassava bacterial resistance, including the recent advances obtained using functional genomics. The acquired knowledge in the last years for this pathosystem will help to establish better disease control strategies and generate, in a short term, resistant cassava varieties contributing to solve one of the main problems of poor cassava farmers and this effort will open a new horizon to the cassava crop in the world