ABSTRACT

158As humans evolved from nomadic to agriculture-based societies, they utilized “special” techniques to modify plants and animals. Some of the food crops such as rice were converted from being perennial to annual plants. Moreover, the traits that were of most value to humans and domesticated animals have been selected for, even without the knowledge of “genes” and recombinant DNA technology. Although the plant genomes are very large, the genomes can be compared with one another by mapping the locations of certain genes or gene traits in various plants. Whole genome sequencing has helped in the discovery of genomic variations and genes associated with adaptation to climatic changes. Significant genomic advances have been made for abiotic stress tolerance in plants with the help of special techniques. In this chapter, we will also briefly discuss other molecular components of signaling pathways, the crosstalk among various abiotic stress responses, and use in improving abiotic stress tolerance in different crops.