High salinity levels affect 20% of the cultivated area and 9%–34% of the irrigated agricultural land worldwide, ultimately leading to yield losses of crops. The current study evaluated seven salt tolerance-related traits at the seedling stage in a set of 138 pre-breeding lines (PBLs) and identified 63 highly significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) linked to salt tolerance. Different candidate genes were identified in in silico analysis, many of which were involved in various stress conditions in plants, including glycine-rich cell wall structural protein 1-like, metacaspase-1, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase GAPA1, and plastidial GAPA1. Some of these genes coded for structural protein and participated in cell wall structure, some were linked to programmed cell death, and others were reported to show abiotic stress response roles in wheat and other plants. In addition, using the Multi-Trait Genotype-Ideotype Distance Index (MGIDI) protocol, the best-performing lines under salt stress were identified. The SNPs identified in this study and the genotypes with favorable alleles provide an excellent source to impart salt tolerance in wheat.

Wheat is a staple food of about 40% of the world population, and continuous improvement is vital to meet the increasing demands of the world population. Climate change, a serious concern of the present time, could strongly affect the wheat crop. To mitigate the climate change effects on wheat, scientists are developing wheat germplasm tolerant to the number of stresses and for this purpose different strategies have been adopted. In this chapter, the effect of climate change on wheat and strategies to develop a better wheat plant for climate change using advance breeding and molecular techniques have been discussed. Conventional breeding including hybridization, mutation breeding and shuttle breeding are some classical approaches which have led to the development of some high yielding wheat varieties but it’s a time taking task, the advancement in science has opened the new window for making a better crop for changing climate. Recent achievements in genetic engineering are expected to augment conventional breeding to further increase production. Advances in genome sequencing and molecular breeding have increased the rate of gene discovery. The use of advance genomic technique is a key to overcome the food security issue related to climate change.