The battle of crops against drought: Genetic dissection and improvement

Abstract

With ongoing global climate change, water scarcity‐induced drought stress remains a major threat to agricultural productivity. Plants undergo a series of physiological and morphological changes to cope with drought stress, including stomatal closure to reduce transpiration and changes in root architecture to optimize water uptake. Combined phenotypic and multi‐omics studies have recently identified a number of drought‐related genetic resources in different crop species. The functional dissection of these genes using molecular techniques has enriched our understanding of drought responses in crops and has provided genetic targets for enhancing resistance to drought. Here, we review recent advances in the cloning and functional analysis of drought resistance genes and the development of technologies to mitigate the threat of drought to crop production.

Nano‐enabled stress‐smart agriculture: Can nanotechnology deliver drought and salinity‐smart crops?

“…Furthermore, drought stress can alter the plant's carbon metabolism by repressing key biochemical and photochemical processes, including Rubisco inactivation, slow RuBP regeneration and stomatal closure, which result in limited CO 2 diffusion into the leaves (Pandey et al, 2023;Yang & Qin, 2023).…”

“…In an open environment, drought stress limits plant growth and production (Bhardwaj & Kapoor, 2021;Cooper & Messina, 2023;Raza, Mubarik, et al, 2023;Varshney et al, 2021;Yang & Qin, 2023).…”

“…Plant responses to drought stress are reliant on several features, including the period and strength of the stress, the genetic makeup of the plant and the developmental period (Salvi et al, 2021; Varshney et al, 2021). The consequences of drought stress on plants are widespread, impacting all stages of plant growth, soil heterogeneity and nutrient mobility and access (Limousin et al, 2022; Raza, Mubarik, et al, 2023; Riyazuddin et al, 2022; Yang & Qin, 2023). Water deficiency can result in decreased vegetative growth and biomass, which are associated with key developmental switches such as the reproductive transition (Cooper & Messina, 2023; Wang et al, 2023).…”

“…Water deficiency can result in decreased vegetative growth and biomass, which are associated with key developmental switches such as the reproductive transition (Cooper & Messina, 2023; Wang et al, 2023). Furthermore, drought stress can alter the plant's carbon metabolism by repressing key biochemical and photochemical processes, including Rubisco inactivation, slow RuBP regeneration and stomatal closure, which result in limited CO 2 diffusion into the leaves (Pandey et al, 2023; Yang & Qin, 2023).…”

“…Drought is a complex abiotic stress caused by low rainfall and extreme temperatures, which alter plant characteristics and development processes (Bhardwaj & Kapoor, 2021; Laxa et al, 2019). It is frequent in arid and semiarid areas, disrupting plant processes, especially transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, photosynthetic frequency, water potential and leaf relative water content (RWC), at all stages of plant growth (Hammond et al, 2022; Lamaoui et al, 2018; Raza, Mubarik, et al, 2023; Yang & Qin, 2023). Drought stress can also disrupt cell division and meiosis, diminish pollen grains, cause pollen sterility and lead to plant necrosis (Fahad et al, 2017).…”