Advances in Genomic Designing for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Sorghum

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a multipurpose C4 plant that ranks fifth among the important cereal crops at the global level. It is a staple crop well-adapted to water-deficit environments, hence, considered as a crop of choice for marginal lands. Inherently sorghum possesses high levels of abiotic stress tolerance compared to other cereal crops. Sorghum, however, has various morphological, anatomical, physiological responses and many molecular signal network mechanisms in imparting abiotic stress tolerance. The major challenging area of research in the climate change scenario is to develop and deploy resistant varieties. Researchers have been trying to decode the complex phenomenon of sorghum tolerance to abiotic stress using various approaches. The extent of crop yield loss due to abiotic stresses can be effectively addressed by combining conventional breeding with high throughput omics technologies. This chapter highlights the broader view of abiotic stress factors and their influence on the sorghum yield. The underlying mechanisms at various levels adapted by sorghum are covered in this chapter. This chapter also describes breeding principles utilized to obtain abiotic stress-tolerant sorghum varieties. A glimpse of genomics aided breeding coupled with conventional breeding methodologies are expected to provide a promising approach in improving crop productivity. This chapter provides readers an overview of modern omics era covering sequencing, gene network elucidation through transcriptomics, validation through expression profiling, editing that may aid in sorghum improvement.