Exploring Multi-Omics Tools and Their Advancement to Study Drought Stress Responses.

Abstract

Climate change poses significant threats to optimal crop production, with drought emerging as a major challenge impacting food security. To meet the demands of a growing population under increasingly variable environmental conditions, it is central to comprehend plant responses to stress. Recent advancements in omics technologies have transformed our understanding of drought-responsive genes, associated networks and pathways at the genome-wide level. These tools enable comprehensive insights into the genetic and molecular mechanisms governing drought response and help us to identify critical genes, regulatory networks, and stress response pathways. This comprehensive review explores the potential of multi-omics approaches in plant functional genomics, aiming to provide a holistic view of drought tolerance mechanisms by integrating data from diverse omics disciplines. By unravelling the complexities of gene regulation, protein dynamics, and metabolic pathways, these integrative tools offer a path toward precise crop improvement strategies. Further, we have also discussed the challenges that persist in integrating these approaches to develop high-yielding, drought-resilient crop varieties. Overall, this article addresses the challenges of utilizing a multi-omics strategy to accelerate targeted crop improvement for drought stress response, and how this approach can help ensure global food security.