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Plant research has evolved as the vanguard of the genomics revolution. Among the projects at early stages, the sequencing of the recommended organism has previously proved a marked revolution for the research of a wide array of crops like corn and soybean. With crop and food bioengineering only at the beginning, the urge to clear the concept of fundamental genetic mechanisms of plants will only become more pressing. However, because genetic knowledge is gaining a lot of attention on a daily basis, we are familiar with eccentric new obstacles that permit new outlooks into the molecular basis of human metabolism under general as well as pathophysiological situations. Current technological achievements have made it conceivable to analyse instantaneously large sets of mRNA and/or proteins articulated in biological organs or to define genetic variations that are crucial for the individual stimuli of an organism to vary in its nutritional environment. Since the last decades, proteomics has gained a lot of attention for its technical aspect and theories. This imitates the promise and prospects of proteomics on one hand, and the urge for speculation in technology and expertise on the other hand. Proteomics covers the field of two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and “brute force” identification. Although this technology can be revealing, proteomics goes far beyond 2-DE gels and instinctual force identification, as will expectantly become evident from this chapter. Plant proteomics is still in its development, but is likely to become an active field with a large influence on plant biology. Bids of the novel process of genome and proteome analysis will be the core for the innovation of nutritional biology in the coming centuries and its incorporation into the swiftly emerging approach of functional genomics and proteomics.

Molecular markers closely linked to Fusarium wilt resistance in chickpea were identified from earlier studies with an objective to validate them. The recombinant inbred line (RIL) mapping population (F11) derived from JG62 (FW susceptible) and WR315 (FW resistant) was used for validation of linked markers. The RILs were phenotyped for FW resistance over two seasons in a wilt sick field at ICRISAT and in wilt sick pots under the green house condition. A total of 42 markers linked to Fusarium wilt (FW) resistance in chickpea were selected from earlier reports for validation. Among 42 markers selected 23 markers were polymorphic among the parental lines of RIL population and hence these markers were used for genotyping the mapping population. The genotyping data together with phenotyping data over two seasons and wilt sick pots identified 12 markers linked to wilt resistance by single marker analysis. The markers TA96, CS27, TA110 and TA59 were more consistently related to FW resistance in this and previous studies. The composite interval mapping has identified two major loci; one each in LG1 and LG2 flanked by markers H4G11 and CaM1402 and H3A12 and CS27, respectively. These two loci are considered as major loci for FW resistance explaining up to 76.66% of phenotypic variation for FW resistance. The results presented here and those published earlier confirm the emerging picture of two hotspots in chickpea genome for resistance to Fusarium wilt. The QTL flanking markers, H4G11, CaM1402, CS27, and H3A12 are most promising and reliable for deployment in chickpea breeding.

Background: Fusarium wilt is one of the widely distributed biotic stress of chickpea limiting its productivity worldwide. The major problem limiting the resistance breeding is screening of germplasm and breeding lines for disease resistance. To address such problems, identification of molecular marker closely linked to resistance locus is an effective strategy.Methods: The RAPD marker A07C417 closely linked H2 locus of Fusarium wilt resistance locus has been converted into SCAR and the loss of initial polymorphism was recaptured by alignment of consensus sequences from SCAR amplified locus for the identification of common motifs. Further, the linkage association of this marker with Fusarium wilt resistance locus has been reaffirmed using Fusarium wilt response of RILs phenotyped for wilt reaction using wilt sick pots and also wilt sick plots.Result: Identification of single nucleotide polymorphism at the consensus SCAR locus between susceptible and resistant cultivar, enabled development of CAPS marker through suitable restriction enzyme Aci I making it an effective codominant marker system for resistance deployment via marker assisted selection.

A future challenge in crop improvement, mostly driven by global unfavorable environment variables, is to develop climate smart crops that are competent for multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. Researchers have addressed the elementary mechanism focused on aboveground plant organs, as extensive study on root traits are very confined. Moreover, most of our knowledge regarding root research is limited to certain developmental aspects, while a direct connectivity to developing environment sensitive roots under various stresses is extremely urgent to explore thoroughly. Therefore this chapter covers the most recent research on the root system architecture (RSA) of different crop species with regard to different extreme environmental variables such as high temperature, elevated CO2, low temperature, drought, excess water, and stressed soil. We highlight the recent physiological, genetic, and molecular strategies used in the rapid advancement of RSA traits under these stresses. There is an urgent need to explore RSA in order to improve crop stress tolerance, therefore we discuss and explore the link between RSA and stress tolerance. Further, this chapter will provide new insights into the relevance of the redesign and selection of improved RSA for the development of climate resilient plants. We conclude by discussing the functional and molecular evidence of RSA components such as deep root weight, root length density, root volume, root penetration, and other root traits for improving root plasticity in a fluctuating environment, which will help the researchers to select RSA pipelines for abiotic stress resilience and crop improvement programs.

The standardization of anther culture media for callus induction, and regeneration from anther derived callus of Azucena and Budda rice varieties. Anthers from panicles in which the distance between flag leaf and subtending leaf was 11cm in Azucena and 8 cm in Budda were used for anther culture. At this stage of development, anthers contained uni-nucleate pollen grains. Panicles were subjected to cold pretreatment of 5°C for 8 days. Callus induction frequency in different media combination ranged from 0.66% to 6.66% was observed in N6 medium supplemented with 1.0 mg−l,2, 4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid, 2.0 mg−l α-Naphthalene acetic acid and 0.5 mg−l Kinetin. In Azucena variety, highest callus induction (6.66%) while no callusing was found in Budda variety. Highest shoot regeneration (0.33%) from callus was observed in MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg−l 6- Benzyl amino purine, 0.5 mg−l Kinetin and 80 mg−ladenine sulphate.