Physiology, genomics, and evolutionary aspects of desert plants.

[Display omitted] • Desert is one of the harshest places on the earth due to low precipitation and soil nutrients. • Global desertification is a continuous process; almost 60% of the land surface is now desertified. • The plants in these desert ecosystems have developed several novel phenotypic characteristics that overcome the harsh environment. • Genome sequencing of the desert plant can enable us to identify the novel trait responsible for overcoming the xerophytic condition. • Transfer of novel genetic traits can be done to the crop plants. So that plants can withstand the harsh environment and overcome crop loss due to drought and other extreme conditions. Despite the exposure to arid environmental conditions across the globe ultimately hampering the sustainability of the living organism, few plant species are equipped with several unique genotypic, biochemical, and physiological features to counter such harsh conditions. Physiologically, they have evolved with reduced leaf size, spines, waxy cuticles, thick leaves, succulent hydrenchyma, sclerophyll, chloroembryo, and photosynthesis in nonfoliar and other parts. At the biochemical level, they are evolved to perform efficient photosynthesis through Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) and C4 pathways with the formation of oxaloacetic acid (Hatch-Slack pathway) instead of the C3 pathway. Additionally, comparative genomics with existing data provides ample evidence of the xerophytic plants' positive selection to adapt to the arid environment. However, adding more high-throughput sequencing of xerophyte plant species is further required for a comparative genomic study toward trait discovery related to survival. Learning from the mechanism to survive in harsh conditions could pave the way to engineer crops for future sustainable agriculture. The distinct physiology of desert plants allows them to survive in harsh environments. However, the genomic composition also contributes significantly to this and requires great attention. This review emphasizes the physiological and genomic adaptation of desert plants. Other important parameters, such as desert biodiversity and photosynthetic strategy, are also discussed with recent progress in the field. Overall, this review discusses the different features of desert plants, which prepares them for harsh conditions intending to translate knowledge to engineer plant species for sustainable agriculture. This review comprehensively presents the physiology, molecular mechanism, and genomics of desert plants aimed towards engineering a sustainable crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]