Conventional and Omics Approaches for Understanding the Abiotic Stress Response in Cereal Crops—An Updated Overview
Kasinathan Rakkammal,
Arumugam Priya,
Subramani Pandian,
Theivanayagam Maharajan,
Periyasamy Rathinapriya,
Lakkakula Satish,
Stanislaus Antony Ceasar,
Soo-In Sohn,
Manikandan Ramesh
Affiliations
Kasinathan Rakkammal
Department of Biotechnology, Science Campus, Alagappa University, Karaikudi 630003, Tamil Nadu, India
Arumugam Priya
Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA
Subramani Pandian
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54874, Korea
Theivanayagam Maharajan
Department of Biosciences, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Cochin 683104, Kerala, India
Periyasamy Rathinapriya
Department of Biotechnology, Science Campus, Alagappa University, Karaikudi 630003, Tamil Nadu, India
Lakkakula Satish
Applied Phycology and Biotechnology Division, Marine Algal Research Station, Mandapam Camp, CSIR—Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar 623519, Tamil Nadu, India
Stanislaus Antony Ceasar
Department of Biosciences, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Cochin 683104, Kerala, India
Soo-In Sohn
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54874, Korea
Manikandan Ramesh
Department of Biotechnology, Science Campus, Alagappa University, Karaikudi 630003, Tamil Nadu, India
Cereals have evolved various tolerance mechanisms to cope with abiotic stress. Understanding the abiotic stress response mechanism of cereal crops at the molecular level offers a path to high-yielding and stress-tolerant cultivars to sustain food and nutritional security. In this regard, enormous progress has been made in the omics field in the areas of genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. Omics approaches generate a massive amount of data, and adequate advancements in computational tools have been achieved for effective analysis. The combination of integrated omics and bioinformatics approaches has been recognized as vital to generating insights into genome-wide stress-regulation mechanisms. In this review, we have described the self-driven drought, heat, and salt stress-responsive mechanisms that are highlighted by the integration of stress-manipulating components, including transcription factors, co-expressed genes, proteins, etc. This review also provides a comprehensive catalog of available online omics resources for cereal crops and their effective utilization. Thus, the details provided in the review will enable us to choose the appropriate tools and techniques to reduce the negative impacts and limit the failures in the intensive crop improvement study.
