Impact of “Omics” in Improving Drought Tolerance in Wheat
Sonia Goel, Kalpana Singh, Sapna Grewal, M.D. Hasim Reja Srijani Maji and Rajib Nath
Abstract
Drought tolerance is a complex trait and being a yield limiting factor has become a significant threat to global food security. The complexity has limited the development of drought tolerant wheat cultivars by classical breeding. In recent years, molecular markers associated with genes for drought signaling pathways have been reported. Marker assisted selection (MAS) and genetic transformation of wheat with different genes/transcription factors have been used to improve drought tolerance. Notably, emergence of “Omics” techniques including transcriptomics and proteomics have helped to identify and characterize genes involved in drought tolerance. Together, all these efforts have helped us to improve our understanding of the complex drought tolerance mechanism(s). Here, we have reviewed the different approaches for improvement of drought tolerance in wheat including MAS, QTL mapping, transgenic development, genome editing, and the application of “Omics” technologies.