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Dangers confronting forest ecosystems are many and the strength of these biological systems is deteriorating, thus substantially affecting tree physiology, phenology, and growth. The establishment of genetically engineered trees into degraded woodlands, which would be adaptive to changing climate, could help in subsiding ecological threats and bring new prospects. This should not be resisted due to the apprehension of transgene dispersal in forests. Consequently, it is important to have a deep insight into the genetic structure and phenotypic limits of the reproductive capability of tree stands/population(s) to endure tolerance and survival. Importantly, for a better understanding of genes and their functional mechanisms, gene editing (GeEd) technology is an excellent molecular tool to unravel adaptation progressions. Therefore, GeEd could be harnessed for resolving the allelic interactions for the creation of gene diversity, and transgene dispersal may be alleviated among the population or species in different bioclimatic zones around the globe. This review highlights the potential of the CRISPR/Cas tools in genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic-based assorted and programmable alterations of genes in trees that might be able to fix the trait-specific gene function. Also, we have discussed the application of diverse forms of GeEd to genetically improve several traits, such as wood density, phytochemical constituents, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, and photosynthetic efficiency in trees. We believe that the technology encourages fundamental research in the forestry sector besides addressing key aspects, which might fasten tree breeding and germplasm improvement programs worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finger millet is susceptible to abiotic stresses, especially drought and salinity stress, in the field during seed germination and early stages of seedling development. Therefore developing stress tolerant finger millet plants combating drought, salinity and associated oxidative stress in these two growth stages is important. Cellular protection through osmotic adjustment and efficient free radical scavenging ability during abiotic stress are important components of stress tolerance mechanisms in plants. Mannitol, an osmolyte, is known to scavenge hydroxyl radicals generated during various abiotic stresses and thereby minimize stress damage in several plant species. In this study transgenic finger millet plants expressing the mannitol biosynthetic pathway gene from bacteria, mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase (mtlD), were developed through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation. mtlD gene integration in the putative transgenic plants was confirmed by Southern blot. Further, performance of transgenic finger millet under drought, salinity and oxidative stress was studied at plant level in T1 generation and in T1 and T2 generation seedlings. Results from these experiments showed that transgenic finger millet had better growth under drought and salinity stress compared to wild-type. At plant level, transgenic plants showed better osmotic adjustment and chlorophyll retention under drought stress compared to the wild-type. However, the overall increase in stress tolerance of transgenics for the three stresses, especially for oxidative stress, was only marginal compared to other mtlD gene expressing plant species reported in the literature. Moreover, the Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation protocol developed for finger millet in this study can be used to introduce diverse traits of agronomic importance in finger millet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane damage is a hallmark of both biotic and abiotic stress responses. The membrane determines the ability of a cell to sustain altered environmental conditions and hence can be used as a biomarker to assess stress-induced cell damage or death. We present an easy, quick, cost-effective, staining and spectrophotometric method to assess membrane stability of plant cells. In this method, Evan's blue, an azo dye, is used to assay for cell viability. More specifically, Evan's blue dye can penetrate through ruptured or destabilized membranes and stain cells. Thus, when plant cells are subjected to stress that compromises membrane integrity, the number of cells that are permeated by Evan's blue dye will be increased compared to control cells that are not stressed. In contrast, live, healthy cells that are capable of maintaining membrane integrity do not take up Evan's blue dye. Cells that have taken up Evan's blue dye will have an accumulation of a blue protoplasmic stain and these stained cells can be qualitatively documented under bright field microscopy with or without the use of a camera. Furthermore, the dye can be extracted from cells that are stained by Evan's blue dye and can be quantified spectrophotometrically. Using this analysis, the accumulation of dye in positively-stained cells correlates with the extent of cell membrane damage and thus the amount of cells that are stained with Evan's blue dye under various conditions can be used as an indicator of cellular stress., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors; exclusive licensee Bio-protocol LLC.)