NIDHI JOSHI, KOMAL BISHT AND PUSHPA LOHANI
Abstract
Global climate changes may lead to increased temperature and decreased precipitation in manyparts of the world. Sustainable food production is the main challenge to our current agricultural system. Atthe global level, water stress is one of the most critical abiotic factorsthat affect crop productivity. Currently,a vast amount of research efforts are being done to generate molecular information leading to anunderstanding of abiotic stress tolerance in plants. Transcriptome analysis is a cost-effective and suitableapproach for the identification of candidate genes for adaptive traits and molecular markers that are linkedto phenotypic variation under drought. Proteome analysis is helpful in deciphering the cellular processesassociated with drought. Although gene expression analysis at the transcription level has enhanced ourunderstanding regarding the response of plants to drought stress, many questions remain unanswered atthe protein level. In view of the fact that the plant proteome is highly dynamic in nature, proteomics isbecoming essential for the study of many different aspects of plant functions. In plants, water scarcity affectsmorphological, physiological, and biochemical processes, including carbon assimilation and partitioning,respiration, nutrient uptake, translocation, and whole metabolism. Water deficit primarily affects the cellturgidity and promotes stomatal closure, controlling transpiration rates, and water loss. It will alsounavoidably restrict CO2 supply to photosynthesis, ultimately impairing leaf metabolism and plant growth.Alterations in transcriptome, proteome and metabolome help plant to recover from drought and survive.