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Plant cell metabolism inevitably forms an important drought-responsive mechanism, which halts crop productivity. Globally, more than 30% of the total harvested area was affected by dehydration. RNA-seq technology has enabled biologists to identify stress-responsive genes in relatively quick times. However, one shortcoming of this technology is the inconsistent data generation compared to other parts of the world. So, we have tried, here, to generate a consensus by analyzing meta-transcriptomic data available in the public microarray database GEO NCBI. In this way, the aim was set, here, to identify stress genes commonly identified as differentially expressed (p < 0.05) then followed by downstream analyses. The search term “Drought in wheat” resulted in 233 microarray experiments from the GEO NCBI database. After discarding empty datasets containing no expression data, the large-scale meta-transcriptome analytics and one sample proportional test were carried out (Bonferroni adjusted p < 0.05) to reveal a set of 11 drought-responsive genes on a global scale. The annotation of these genes revealed that the transcription factor activity of RNA polymerase II and sequence-specific DNA-binding mechanism had a significant role during the drought response in wheat. Similarly, the primary root differentiation zone annotations, controlled by TraesCS5A02G456300 and TraesCS7B02G243600 genes, were found as top-enriched terms (p < 0.05 and Q < 0.05). The resultant standard drought genes, glycosyltransferase; Arabidopsis thaliana KNOTTED-like; bHLH family protein; Probable helicase MAGATAMA 3; SBP family protein; Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2; Trihelix family protein; Mic1 domain-containing protein; ERF family protein; HD-ZIP I protein; and ERF family protein, are important in terms of their worldwide proved link with stress. From a future perspective, this study could be important in a breeding program contributing to increased crop yield. Moreover, the wheat varieties could be identified as drought-resistant/sensitive based on the nature of gene expression levels.

A complex and intricate network of genes responding to various developmental and environmental signals control floral transition in plants. MADS-box genes are the key regulators and major contributors with regard to flowering time determination. Previously, MPF2-like genes belonging to the STMADS11 superclade were duplicated into MPF2-like-A and MPF2-like-B in Withania (WSA206 and WSB206) and Tubocapsicum (TAB 201). The present study was conducted to determine the effect of MPF2-like genes on flowering time by analyzing 35S:MPF2-like transgenic Arabidopsis plants as well as to probe their effects on the expression of SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1, a floral promoter) and MADS AFFECTING FLOWERING 1 (MAF1, a floral repressor) genes. The overexpression of WSA206 (35S:MPF2-like-A) moderately promoted flowering, while that of WSB206 and TAB 201 (35S:MPF2-like-B) exhibited no effects on floral transition. Concomitantly, an elevation in SOC1 transcript abundance and a reduction for MAF1 transcript levels were observed in 35S:WSA206 transgenic plants. Nucleotide diversity analysis indicated an extraordinary 8 aa extension at the C-terminus of the WSA206 protein. Ectopic expression of a truncated WSA206-version without these 8 aa (WSA206ΔC246) and of MPF2-like-B-versions elongated by these 8 aa (WSB206∇C257 and TAB 201∇C257) in Arabidopsis revealed an ambiguous role of the 8 aa signature in floral transition. It may influence a protein's ability to modulate flowering time but is neither sufficient nor strictly necessary for early flowering. Nevertheless, the 8 aa extension influences the expression of SOC1 and MAF1 in MPF2-like derivative constructs. Our studies provide insight into the role of MPF2-like genes in phase transition by interacting with SOC1 and MAF1 genes, thereby also pointing to their significance as potential candidates for modifying flowering in crop plants in the future.

Salinity and drought are main threat to agriculture productivity, to avoid further losses it is necessary to improve the genetic material of crops against these stresses In this present study, AtNHX1, a vacuolar type Na(+)/H(+) antiporter gene driven by 35S promoter was introduced into groundnut using Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation system. The stable integration of the AtNHX1 gene was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and southern blot analysis. It was found that transgenic plants having AtNHX1 gene are more resistant to high concentration of salt and water deprivation than the wild type plants. Salt and proline level in the leaves of the transgenic plants were also much higher than that of wild type plants. The results showed that overexpression of AtNHX1 gene not only improved salt tolerance but also drought tolerance in transgenic groundnut. Our results suggest that these plants could be cultivated in salt and drought-affected soils.