Gazal et al. (2016) 1 SABRAO Journal of Breeding and Genetics 48 (1) 1-32, 2016 MOLECULAR BREEDING FOR ENHANCING RESILIENCE AGAINST BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC STRESS IN MAJOR CEREALS A. GAZAL 1 , Z.A. DAR 2 , S.H. WANI 1 , A.A. LONE 2 , A.B. SHIKARI 1 , G. ALI 1 and I. ABIDI 1 1 Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, Srinagar -190025 (J&K), India. 2 Dryland (Karewa) Agricultural Research Station, Budgam (J&K), India. Corresponding author’s email: zahoorpbg@gmail.com Co-authors’ email: asimagazal@gmail.com, shabirhussainwani@gmail.com, ajaz999@gmail.com, asifshikari@gmail.com, gowharpbg@gmail.com, ishfaqabidi@gmail.com SUMMARY Molecular breeding includes marker-assisted selection, marker-assisted backcross breeding, along with other newer breeding approaches, such as marker-assisted recurrent selection and genomic selection. Marker-assisted selection is used to detect the presence or absence of genes in lines, cultivars, breeding populations and hence, accelerates the selection procedure in comparison to other conventional approaches. Researchers have identified and precisely mapped several genes through association with DNA markers. Genes linked to DNA markers include those governing resistance to biotic stresses and tolerance to abiotic stresses; for example in rice ( Oryza sativa L.) for blast, bacterial blight, brown plant hopper, drought, submergence, salinity; in wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) for rusts, pre-harvest sprouting, and drought and heat tolerance; and in maize ( Zea mays L.) for turcicum leaf blight, polysora rust, banded leaf sheath blight and drought tolerance. Incorporation of major genes or quantitative trait loci (QTL) into widely adapted cultivars has been achieved via marker-assisted backcross breeding. Marker-assisted pyramiding for 2 or more resistance genes provides opportunities for building resilience for serious diseases and insects. For complex traits such as drought, new strategies, such as marker-assisted recurrent selection and genomic selection are employed to increase precision and to reduce cost of phenotyping. Thus, molecular-breeding approaches offer ample opportunities for plant breeders to develop stress-resilient high-yielding cultivars. Furthermore, molecular and conventional breeding are not mutually exclusive; instead, they are complementary under most breeding schemes. This review highlights developments in molecular breeding relative to stress resilience in rice, wheat and maize. Key words: Rice, wheat, maize, cold, molecular breeding, submergence, diseases, drought, heat, salinity Manuscript received: April 18, 2015; Decision on manuscript: August 18, 2015; Manuscript accepted: October 30, 2015. © Society for the Advancement of Breeding Research in Asia and Oceania (SABRAO) 2016 Communicating Editor: Bertrand Collard INTRODUCTION Plant breeding can be defined as a science and technology that has evolved gradually during the past 10,000 years. It started with collection and selection of wild plants by primitive man and encompassed during 1700-1800 hybridization, selection and evolution through natural selection. Subsequently, Mendelian and quantitative genetics, mutation, polyploidy (1900s), gene and molecular design-based science, i.e., gene cloning, direct gene transfer, marker-assisted selection (MAS), marker- assisted backcrossing (MABC), omics and RESEARCH ARTICLE