Multi-omics assisted breeding for biotic stress resistance in soybean

Abstract Biotic stress is a critical factor limiting soybean growth and development. Soybean responses to biotic stresses such as insects, nematodes, and fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens are governed by complex regulatory and defense mechanisms. Next-generation sequencing has availed research techniques and strategies in genomics and postgenomics. This review summarizes the available information on marker resources, quantitative trait loci, and marker trait associations involved in regulating biotic stress responses in soybean. We discuss the differential expression of related genes and proteins reported in different transcriptomics and proteomics studies and the role of signaling pathways and metabolites reported in metabolomic studies. Recent advances in omics technologies offer opportunities to reshape and improve biotic stress resistance in soybean by altering gene regulation and/or other regulatory networks. We recommend using ‘integrated omics’ to understand how soybean responds to different biotic stresses. We discuss the potential challenges of integrating multiomics for functional analysis of genes and their regulatory networks and the development of biotic stress-resistant cultivars. This review will help direct soybean breeding programs to develop resistance against different biotic stresses.