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Dear Colleague,

‘Omics’ include a suite of technologies, viz. genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics and phenomics, the application of which is bringing about a revolution in crop and agricultural sciences. Omics technologies are leading to significant advances in our understanding of biological mechanisms underpinning stress tolerance and resilience in many crops. Through utilization of an ‘omics’ approach or a combination of two or more approaches, novel and superior alleles conferring stress tolerance are being identified, and many more new discoveries are being made by analyzing gene expression profiles, protein structure and interactions, metabolite composition, and high-resolution phenomics of crop plants under various stress conditions. We aim to have a compilation of research articles where ‘omics’ technologies have been utilized to further deepen our understanding of the biological mechanisms underpinning stress resilience or for the genetic improvement of an important agronomic trait in crops. Review articles are also welcomed, highlighting the applications, challenges, and future perspectives of ‘omics’ technologies for crop improvement.

Dr. Deepmala Sehgal
Dr. Prashant Vikram
Guest Editors

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

20 pages, 4776 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Flower Transcriptome Network Analysis Reveals DEGs Involved in Chickpea Reproductive Success during Salinity

by Mayank Kaashyap, Rebecca Ford, Anita Mann, Rajeev K. Varshney, Kadambot H. M. Siddique and Nitin Mantri

Plants 2022, 11(3), 434; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030434 - 5 Feb 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3573

Abstract

Salinity is increasingly becoming a significant problem for the most important yet intrinsically salt-sensitive grain legume chickpea. Chickpea is extremely sensitive to salinity during the reproductive phase. Therefore, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms by comparing the transcriptomic dynamics between the two contrasting genotypes in response to salt stress. Chickpea exhibits considerable genetic variation amongst improved cultivars, which show better yields in saline conditions but still need to be enhanced for sustainable crop production. Based on previous extensive multi-location physiological screening, two identified genotypes, JG11 (salt-tolerant) and ICCV2 (salt-sensitive), were subjected to salt stress to evaluate their phenological and transcriptional responses. RNA-Sequencing is a revolutionary tool that allows for comprehensive transcriptome profiling to identify genes and alleles associated with stress tolerance and sensitivity. After the first flowering, the whole flower from stress-tolerant and sensitive genotypes was collected. A total of ~300 million RNA-Seq reads were sequenced, resulting in 2022 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in response to salt stress. Genes involved in flowering time such as FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and pollen development such as ABORTED MICROSPORES (AMS), rho-GTPase, and pollen-receptor kinase were significantly differentially regulated, suggesting their role in salt tolerance. In addition to this, we identify a suite of essential genes such as MYB proteins, MADS-box, and chloride ion channel genes, which are crucial regulators of transcriptional responses to salinity tolerance. The gene set enrichment analysis and functional annotation of these genes in flower development suggest that they can be potential candidates for chickpea crop improvement for salt tolerance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Challenges of ‘Omics’ Technologies for Generation of Climate-Resilient Crop Varieties)

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