Impact of Drought Stress on Plant Growth and Its Management Using Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria.

Drought stress is a significant environmental challenge affecting global agriculture, leading to substantial reductions in crop yields and overall plant productivity. It induces a cascade of physiological and biochemical changes in plants, including reduced water uptake, stomatal closure, and alterations in hormonal balance, all of which contribute to impaired growth and development. Drought stress diminishes crop production by impacting crucial plant metabolic pathways. Plants possess the ability to activate or deactivate specific sets of genes, leading to changes in their physiological and morphological characteristics. This adaptive response enables plants to evade, endure, or prevent the effects of drought stress. Drought stress triggers the activation of various genes, transcription factors, and signal transduction pathways in plants. In this context, imposing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) emerges as a promising strategy. PGPR, employing diverse mechanisms such as osmotic adjustments, antioxidant activity, and phytohormone production, not only ensures the plant's survival during drought conditions but also enhances its overall growth. This comprehensive review delves into the various mechanisms through which PGPR enhances drought stress resistance, offering a thorough exploration of recent molecular and omics-based approaches to unravel the role of drought-responsive genes. The manuscript encompasses a detailed mechanistic analysis, along with the development of PGPR-based drought stress management in plants.

Endophytic fungi as a potential source of anti-cancer drug.

Endophytes are considered one of the major sources of bioactive compounds used in different aspects of health care including cancer treatment. When colonized, they either synthesize these bioactive compounds as a part of their secondary metabolite production or augment the host plant machinery in synthesising such bioactive compounds. Hence, the study of endophytes has drawn the attention of the scientific community in the last few decades. Among the endophytes, endophytic fungi constitute a major portion of endophytic microbiota. This review deals with a plethora of anti-cancer compounds derived from endophytic fungi, highlighting alkaloids, lignans, terpenes, polyketides, polyphenols, quinones, xanthenes, tetralones, peptides, and spirobisnaphthalenes. Further, this review emphasizes modern methodologies, particularly omics-based techniques, asymmetric dihydroxylation, and biotic elicitors, showcasing the dynamic and evolving landscape of research in this field and describing the potential of endophytic fungi as a source of anticancer drugs in the future.