A Review of Biotechnology Techniques in Genetic Modification of Crop Plants to Cope with Drought Stress
Subject Areas : Research On Crop Ecophysiology
JABER MEHDINIYA AFRA
1
,
ELAHE REZAEI
2
,
Afshar Zafarani
3
,
nafiseh jalali
4
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
Keywords: Keywords: Plant biotechnology, Genetic improvement, Drought tolerance Molecular markers, Tissue culture, Haploid, Stress-induced regeneration, Somaclonal variation.,
Abstract :
A Review of Biotechnology Techniques in Genetic Modification of Crop Plants to Cope with Drought Stress JABER MEHDINIYA AFRA1*، ELAHE REZAEI2 ، AFSHAR ZAFARANI3 ، NAFISEH JALALI4 1-Department of Agricultural SciencesNational University of Skills (NUS), Tehran, Iran. 2-Master's Degree in Agricultural Engineering, Biotechnology, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad، mashhad, Iran. 3-Department of plant production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran. 4- phd student of Agroecology Department of Agrotechnology, Agriculture Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Mashhad Iran. *Corresponding author’s E-mail: mehdiniya.jaber@gmail.com Received: 20 April 2024 Accepted: 5 June 2024 ABSTRACT Drought stress is one of the most critical limiting factors affecting the growth and productivity of crop plants in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide. Due to its polygenic nature, complex interaction with the environment, and low heritability, genetic improvement for drought tolerance has consistently posed a major challenge in plant breeding programs. In this context, modern biotechnological tools have provided exceptional opportunities for identifying, selecting, and transferring key genes associated with drought resistance. This review article explores the most prominent biotechnological approaches employed in enhancing drought tolerance in crops. These methods include marker-assisted selection (MAS), tissue culture and somaclonal variation, in vitro selection under stress conditions, haploid production and chromosome doubling, and regeneration under stress conditions. Each technique, with its specific potentials and limitations, contributes significantly to optimizing the genetic improvement process in response to drought stress. Furthermore, key challenges such as the genetic complexity of the trait, genotype × environment interactions, lack of sufficient infrastructure, and socio-economic concerns are discussed. Ultimately, this study emphasizes that integrating biotechnological strategies with conventional breeding, alongside the use of advanced phenotyping tools and genomic analyses, can pave the way for developing drought-resilient crop varieties in the near future. Keywords: Plant biotechnology, Genetic improvement, Drought tolerance Molecular markers, Tissue culture, Haploid, Stress-induced regeneration, Somaclonal variation.
REFERENCES
Achard P., Gong, F., Cheminant S., Alioua M., Hedden P., Genschik P. 2006. The cold-inducible CBF1 factor-dependent signaling pathway modulates the accumulation of the growth-repressing DELLA proteins via gibberellin. The Plant Cell, 20(8), 2117–2129. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.108.059014.
Ahmadi M., Rezaei N. 2020. The effect of drought stress on stomatal closure and reduction of photosynthesis in crop plants. Iranian Journal of Plant Physiology, 22(3): 156-172.
Ashraf M., Foolad M. R. 2007. Roles of glycine betaine and proline in improving plant abiotic stress resistance. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 59(2), 206-216.
Blum A. 2011. Plant breeding for water-limited environments. Springer.
Chaves M. M., Maroco J. P., Pereira J. S. 2003. Understanding plant responses to drought—from genes to the whole plant. Functional Plant Biology, 30(3), 239-264.
Collard B. C. Y., Mackill D. J. 2008. Marker-assisted selection: an approach for precision plant breeding in the twenty-first century. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 363(1491), 557–572.
Collins N. C., et al. 2008. Quantitative trait loci and crop performance under abiotic stress: Where do we stand? Plant Physiology, 147(2), 469–486.
Crisp P. A., Ganguly D., Eichten S. R., Borevitz J. O., Pogson B. J. 2016. Reconsidering plant memory: Intersections between stress recovery, RNA turnover, and epigenetics. Science Advances, 2(2), e1501340. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501340.
Cutler S. R., Rodriguez P. L., Finkelstein R. R., Abrams S. R. 2010. Abscisic acid: emergence of a core signaling network. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 61, 651–679. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-042809-112122.
Farooq M., Wahid A., Kobayashi N., Fujita D., Basra, S. M. 2009. Plant drought stress: effects, mechanisms and management. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 29(1), 185-212.
Farooq M., Wahid A., Kobayashi N., Fujita D., Basra, S. M. A. 2020. Plant drought stress: effects, mechanisms and management. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 40(2), 23-35.
Fita A., Rodríguez-Burruezo A., Prohens J. 2015. Breeding and domesticating crops adapted to drought and salinity: A new paradigm for increasing food production. Frontiers in Plant Science, 6, 978.
Flexas J., Bota J., Loreto F., Cornic G., Sharkey T. D. 2018. Diffusive and metabolic limitations to photosynthesis under drought stress in C3 plants. Plant Biology, 20(4), 659-675.
Fromm, M., Taylor, L. P., & Walbot, V. 1985. Expression of genes transferred into monocot and dicot plant cells by electroporation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 82(17), 5824–5828.
Fujita Y., Fujita M., Satoh R., Maruyama K., Parvez M. M., Seki M. Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K. 2011. AREB1 is a transcription activator of novel ABRE-dependent ABA signaling that enhances drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 17(12), 3470–3488. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.105.035659.
Gelvin S. B. 2003. Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation: the biology behind the "gene-jockeying" tool. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 67(1), 16–37.
Germanà M. A. 2011. Anther culture for haploid and doubled haploid production. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC), 104(3), 283–300.
Ghasemi A., Hemmati M., Karimi B. 2020. Physiological mechanisms of plants in response to drought stress: a review of the role of osmotic potential. Journal of Biological Sciences, 27(4): 198-215.
Gill S. S., Tuteja N. 2010. Reactive oxygen species and antioxidant machinery in abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 48(12), 909–930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2010.08.016.
Gupta P. K. 2010. Molecular markers and MAS in crop improvement. Plant Breeding, 129(2), 123–134.
Gupta R., Kumar, V. 2021. "Improvement of Drought Tolerance in Crops through Water Management Practices." International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research, 3(4), 65-75.
Heydari S., Fallah N., and Mohammadi J. 2022. The effect of drought stress on physiological and biochemical indices in different potato cultivars. Quarterly Journal of Dryland Plant Research, 27(3), 87-99.
Hoekstra F. A., Golovina E. A., Buitink J. 2001. Mechanisms of plant desiccation tolerance. Trends in Plant Science, 6(9), 431-438.
Hosseini F., Moradi K., Rahmani S. 2014. The role of osmotic regulation in stomatal closure and transpiration management in drought-tolerant plants. Journal of Botanical Research, 30(1): 25-40.
Hosseini M., Rezaei A., and Mousavi F. 2022. The effect of potassium nanochelate on physiological characteristics of plants under drought stress. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 53(1), 25-38.
Hundertmark M., Hincha, D. K. 2008. LEA (late embryogenesis abundant) proteins and their encoding genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. BMC Genomics, 9, 118. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-9-118.
Jaganathan D., Ramasamy K., Sellamuthu G., Jayabalan S., Venkataraman, G. 2018. CRISPR for crop improvement: an update review. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9, 985.
Jain S. M. 2001. Tissue culture-derived variation in crop improvement. Euphytica, 118(2), 153–166.
Kasuga M., Liu Q., Miura S., Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K., Shinozaki K. 1999. Improving plant drought, salt, and freezing tolerance by gene transfer of a single stress-inducible transcription factor. Nature Biotechnology, 17(3), 287–291.
Kim J. M., To T. K., Nishioka T., Seki, M. 2015. Chromatin regulation functions in plant abiotic stress responses. Plant, Cell & Environment, 38(2), 278–289. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12250
Kishor P. B. K., Hong Z., Miao G. H., Hu C. A., Verma D. P. S. 1995. Overexpression of Δ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase increases proline production and confers osmotolerance in transgenic plants. Plant Physiology, 108(4), 1387–1394.
Lata C., Prasad M. 2011. Role of DREBs in regulation of abiotic stress responses in plants. Journal of Experimental Botany, 62(14), 4731–4748. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/err210
Li M., Li X., Zhou Z., Wu P., Fang M., Pan X; Zhang H. 2017. Reassessment of the four yield-related genes Gn1a, DEP1, GS3, and IPA1 in rice using CRISPR/Cas9 system. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8, 377.
Malik M. R., Wang F., Wang X. 2021. Application of doubled haploid technology in plant breeding: A critical review. Plant Cell Reports, 40(6), 1129–1140.
Mehdiniya Afra J, Niknejad Y., Falah Amoli H., Barari Tari D.2021. The effect of different sources of chemical and organic fertilizers on some physiological components of different rice cultivars Under drought stress conditions. Scientific Journal of Crop Physiology, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch. Print ISSN: 403-2008X Online ISSN: 6949-2676. No. 45, Spring 2020, pp. 25-44.
Mehdiniya Afra J., mozafar M.2017. The Effect of Phosphorus and Zinc Fertilizer on the Elements Concentration of Soybean Cultivars Seed (Glycine max L.). Bulletin of Environment, Pharmacology and Life Sciences.vol.(6):41-48.
Mehdiniya Afra J., Niknejad Y., Falah Amoli H., Barari Tari D.2020b. Effect of various nutritional resources on phytochemical traits of some rice varieties under drought stress conditions. Bulletin of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca. Agriculture. Print ISSN: 1843-5246 Online ISSN: 1843-5386.2021.
Mehdiniya Afra J., Niknejad Y., Falah Amoli H., Barari Tari D.2020a. Effects of Drought Stress on Some Phytochemical Characteristics of Rice cultivars under Different Chemical and organic Nutritional Sources. Journal of Plant Nutrition & Taylor & Francis journals. Print ISSN: 0190-4167 Online ISSN: 1532-4087.2020.
Mehdiniya Afra J., Niknejad Y., Falah Amoli H., Barari Tari D.2019. Evaluation of chemical and organic nutrition systems on performance and water use efficiency Under conditions of low irrigation stress, rice cultivars. Journal of Crop Science. Islamic Azad University, Shushtar Branch. Ninth Volume, Number Two, Fall 2019.
Mehdiniya Afra J., Jalali N., Rezaei E.2023. Drought Stress in Rice: Effects and Management Options. Research on Crop Ecophysiology .18(2).145-158.
Mittler R., Finka A., Goloubinoff P. 2012. How do plants feel the heat? Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 37(3), 118–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibs.2011.11.007
Moradi K., Nouri R., Rahnama F. 2000. The effect of decreasing water potential on the accumulation of solutes and osmotic regulation in crop plants. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 35(2): 72-90.
Munns R., Tester M. 2008. "Mechanisms of Salinity Tolerance." Annual Review of Plant Biology, 59, 651-681.
Nakashima, K., Ito, Y., Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, K. 2009. Transcriptional regulatory networks in response to abiotic stresses in Arabidopsis and grasses. Plant Physiology, 149(1), 88–95. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.108.129791
Nemati H., Abbasi D., Mohammadi S. 2018. The effect of drought stress on photosynthetic activity and compensatory mechanisms in plants. Journal of Plant Physiology and Ecophysiology, 19(1): 90-105.
Passioura J. B. 2007. The drought environment: Physical, biological and agricultural perspectives. Journal of Experimental Botany, 58(2), 113–117.
Qaim M. 2009. The economics of genetically modified crops. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 1, 665–694.
Rahimi K., Ahmadi Sh., and Naderi M. 2023. The role of proline and mannitol in osmotic regulation of drought-tolerant plants. Journal of Plant Biotechnology, 48(2), 125-140.
Rai M. K. 2011. The role of biotechnology in the conservation and improvement of medicinal plants. Plant Cell Reports, 30(5), 1005–1021.
Sairam R. K. 2002. In vitro selection and characterization of drought tolerant wheat genotypes. Biologia Plantarum, 45(4), 597–602.
Sanford J. C. 2000. The development of the biolistic process. Biologia Plantarum, 43(3), 491–494.
Seki M., Umezawa T., Urano K., Shinozaki K. 2007. Regulatory metabolic networks in drought stress responses. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 10(3), 296-302.
Shani E., Salehin, M., Zhang, Y., Sanchez, S. E., Doherty, C., Wang, R. Estelle, M. 2017. Plant stress tolerance requires auxin-sensitive Aux/IAA transcriptional repressors. Current Biology, 27(3), 437–444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.12.016.
Shinozaki K., Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K. 2007. Gene networks involved in drought stress response and tolerance. Journal of Experimental Botany, 58(2), 221–227. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erl164
Singh A., et al. 2020. "Impact of Water Stress on Plant Metabolism and Crop Yield." Crop Science, 60(6), 1954-1963.
Sunkar R., Li Y. F., Jagadeeswaran G. 2007. Functions of microRNAs in plant stress responses. Trends in Plant Science, 12(12), 585–593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2007.09.005
Szabados L., Savouré A. 2010. Proline: a multifunctional amino acid. Trends in Plant Science, 15(2), 89-97.
Tardieu F., Davies W. J. 1993. Integration of hydraulic and chemical signalling in the control of stomatal conductance and water status of droughted plants. Plant, Cell & Environment, 16(4), 341-349.
Tuberosa R., Salvi S. 2006. Genomics-based approaches to improve drought tolerance of crops. Trends in Plant Science, 11(8), 405–412.
Tunnacliffe A., Wise M. J. 2007. The continuing conundrum of the LEA proteins. Naturwissenschaften, 94(10), 791–812. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-007-0254-y
Varshney R. K. 2012. Genomics-assisted breeding for drought tolerance: achievements and perspectives. Functional Plant Biology, 39(5), 363–377.
Verbruggen N., Hermans C. 2008. Proline accumulation in plants: a review. Amino Acids, 35(4), 753-759.
Verma V., Ravindran P., Kumar P. P. 2016. Plant hormone-mediated regulation of stress responses. BMC Plant Biology, 16, 86. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-016-0771-y.
Wang, W., Qin, Q., Sun, F., Wang, Y., Xu, D., Li, Z., Fu, B. 2016. Genome-wide differences in DNA methylation changes in two contrasting rice genotypes in response to drought conditions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7, 1675. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.01675.
Wang W., Vinocur B., Shoseyov O., Altman A. 2004. Role of plant heat-shock proteins and molecular chaperones in the abiotic stress response. Trends in Plant Science, 9(5), 244–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2004.03.006.
Wang Y., Cheng X., Shan Q., Zhang Y., Liu J., Gao C., Qiu J. L. 2017. Simultaneous editing of three homoeoalleles in hexaploid bread wheat confers heritable resistance to powdery mildew. Nature Biotechnology, 32(9), 947–951.
Xu D., Duan X., Wang B. 1996. Expression of a late embryogenesis abundant protein gene, HVA1, from barley confers tolerance to water deficit and salt stress in transgenic rice. Plant Physiology, 110(1), 249–257.
Xu Y. 2020. Enhancing genetic gain in the era of molecular breeding. Journal of Experimental Botany, 71(17), 5313–5324.
Zhang H., 2022. The Effect of Water Deficit on Plant Growth and Development. Agricultural Water Management, 258, 106881.
Zhao T. J. 2000. Screening for drought tolerance in wheat using in vitro culture. Plant Science, 152(1), 165–172.
Zhu J. K. 2016. Abiotic stress signaling and responses in plants. Cell, 167(2), 313–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.08.029.
.