Economically important crops, such as maize, wheat, rice, barley, and other food crops are affected by even small changes in water potential at important growth stages. Developing a comprehensive understanding of host response to drought requires a global view of the complex mechanisms involved. Research on drought tolerance has generally been conducted using discipline-specific approaches. However, plant stress response is complex and interlinked to a point where discipline-specific approaches do not give a complete global analysis of all the interlinked mechanisms. Systems biology perspective is needed to understand genome-scale networks required for building long-lasting drought resistance. Network maps have been constructed by integrating multiple functional genomics data with both model plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, Lotus japonicus, and Medicago truncatula, and various food crops, such as rice and soybean. Useful functional genomics data have been obtained from genome-wide comparative transcriptome and proteome analyses of drought responses from different crops. This integrative approach used by many groups has led to identification of commonly regulated signaling pathways and genes following exposure to drought. Combination of functional genomics and systems biology is very useful for comparative analysis of other food crops and has the ability to develop stable food systems worldwide. In addition, studying desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants will unravel how combination of molecular genetic and metabolic processes interacts to produce a resurrection phenotype. Systems biology-based approaches have helped in understanding how these individual factors and mechanisms (biochemical, molecular, and metabolic) "interact" spatially and temporally. Signaling network maps of such interactions are needed that can be used to design better engineering strategies for improving drought tolerance of important crop species.

The current challenges of sustainable agricultural development augmented by global climate change have led to the exploration of new technologies like nanotechnology, which has potential in providing novel and improved solutions. Nanotools in the form of nanofertilizers and nanopesticides possess smart delivery mechanisms and controlled release capacity for active ingredients, thus minimizing excess run-off to water bodies. This study aimed to establish the broad spectrum antifungal activity of mycogenic selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) synthesized from Trichoderma atroviride, and characterize the bioactive nanoparticles using UV–Vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The synthesized nanoparticles displayed excellent in vitro antifungal activity against Pyricularia grisea and inhibited the infection of Colletotrichum capsici and Alternaria solani on chili and tomato leaves at concentrations of 50 and 100 ppm, respectively. The SEM-EDS analysis of the bioactive SeNPs revealed a spherical shape with sizes ranging from 60.48 nm to 123.16 nm. The nanoparticles also possessed the unique property of aggregating and binding to the zoospores of P. infestans at a concentration of 100 ppm, which was visualized using light microscope, atomic force microscopy, and electron microscopy. Thus, the present study highlights the practical application of SeNPs to manage plant diseases in an ecofriendly manner, due to their mycogenic synthesis and broad spectrum antifungal activity against different phytopathogens.

In the present study, we investigated the role of Trichoderma virens (TriV_JSB100) spores or cell-free culture filtrate in the regulation of growth and activation of the defence responses of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici by the development of a biocontrol-plant-pathogen interaction system. Two-week-old tomato seedlings primed with TriV_JSB100 spores cultured on barley grains (BGS) or with cell-free culture filtrate (CF) were inoculated with Fusarium pathogen under glasshouse conditions; this resulted in significantly lower disease incidence in tomato Oogata-Fukuju plants treated with BGS than in those treated with CF. To dissect the pathways associated with this response, jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) signalling in BGS- and CF-induced resistance was evaluated using JA- and SA-impaired tomato lines. We observed that JA-deficient mutant def1 plants were susceptible to Fusarium pathogen when they were treated with BGS. However, wild-type (WT) BGS-treated tomato plants showed a higher JA level and significantly lower disease incidence. SA-deficient mutant NahG plants treated with CF were also found to be susceptible to Fusarium pathogen and displayed low SA levels, whereas WT CF-treated tomato plants exhibited moderately lower disease levels and substantially higher SA levels. Expression of the JA-responsive defensin gene PDF1 was induced in WT tomato plants treated with BGS, whereas the SA-inducible pathogenesis-related protein 1 acidic (PR1a) gene was up-regulated in WT tomato plants treated with CF. These results suggest that TriV_JSB100 BGS and CF differentially induce JA and SA signalling cascades for the elicitation of Fusarium oxysporum resistance in tomato.

Plant immunization for resistance against a wide variety of phytopathogens is an effective strategy for plant disease management. Seventy-nine plant growth-promoting fungi (PGPFs) were isolated from rhizosphere soil of India. Among them, nine revealed saprophytic ability, root colonization, phosphate solubilization, IAA production, and plant growth promotion. Seed priming with four PGPFs exhibited early seedling emergence and enhanced vigour of a tomato cultivar susceptible to the bacterial wilt pathogen compared to untreated controls. Under greenhouse conditions, TriH_JSB27 and PenC_JSB41 treatments remarkably enhanced the vegetative and reproductive growth parameters. Maximum NPK uptake was noticed in TriH_JSB27-treated plants. A significant disease reduction of 57.3% against Ralstonia solanacearum was observed in tomato plants pretreated with TriH_JSB27. Furthermore, induction of defence-related enzymes and genes was observed in plants pretreated with PGPFs or inoculated with pathogen. The maximum phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity (111U) was observed at 24h in seedlings treated with TriH_JSB27 and this activity was slightly reduced (99U) after pathogen inoculation. Activities of peroxidase (POX, 54U) and β-1,3-glucanase (GLU, 15U) were significantly higher in control plants inoculated with pathogen after 24h and remained constant at all time points. A similar trend in gene induction for PAL was evident in PGPFs-treated tomato seedlings with or without pathogen inoculation, whereas POX and GLU were upregulated in control plus pathogen-inoculated tomato seedlings. These results determine that the susceptible tomato cultivar is triggered after perception of potent PGPFs to synthesize PAL, POX, and GLU, which activate defence resistance against bacterial wilt disease, thereby contributing to plant health improvement.