Advanced Biotechnological Interventions in Mitigating Drought Stress in Plants.

This comprehensive article critically analyzes the advanced biotechnological strategies to mitigate plant drought stress. It encompasses an in-depth exploration of the latest developments in plant genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, shedding light on the complex molecular mechanisms that plants employ to combat drought stress. The study also emphasizes the significant advancements in genetic engineering techniques, particularly CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, which have revolutionized the creation of drought-resistant crop varieties. Furthermore, the article explores microbial biotechnology's pivotal role, such as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and mycorrhizae, in enhancing plant resilience against drought conditions. The integration of these cutting-edge biotechnological interventions with traditional breeding methods is presented as a holistic approach for fortifying crops against drought stress. This integration addresses immediate agricultural needs and contributes significantly to sustainable agriculture, ensuring food security in the face of escalating climate change challenges.

Molecular Characterization of Cyclamen Species Collected from Different Parts of Turkey by RAPD and SRAP Markers.

The genus Cyclamen (family Myrsinaceae) contains about 20 species, most of which occur in the Mediterranean region. Turkey has critically important Cyclamen genetic resources. Molecular characterization of plant materials collected from different regions of Turkey in which Cyclamen species grow naturally, namely Adana, Antalya, Aydin, Mugla, Izmir, Denizli, Kahramanmaras, Osmaniye, Eskisehir, Trabzon, and Rize provinces, was performed using RAPD and SRAP markers. DNA was successfully amplified by 30 RAPD primers and 14 SRAP primer pairs. Among the 470 bands generated by the RAPD primers, 467 were polymorphic. The number of bands detected by a single primer set ranged from 11 to 22 (average of 15.6). The percentage polymorphism was 99.3 % based on the RAPD data. In the SRAP analysis, a total of 216 bands were generated, showing 100 % polymorphism. The number of bands detected by a single primer set ranged from 9 to 22 (average of 15.4). All data were scored and UPGMA dendrograms were constructed with similar results in both marker systems, i.e., different species from nine provinces of Turkey were separated from each other in the dendrograms with the same species being clustered together.

Genetic Characterization of Turkish Snake Melon (Cucumis melo L. subsp. melo flexuosus Group) Accessions Revealed by SSR Markers.

Snake melon is an important cucurbit crop especially in the Southeastern and the Mediterranean region of Turkey. It is consumed as fresh or pickled. The production is mainly done with the local landraces in the country. Turkey is one of the secondary diversification centers of melon and possesses valuable genetic resources which have different morphological characteristics in case of snake melon. Genetic diversity of snake melon genotypes collected from different regions of Turkey and reference genotypes obtained from World Melon Gene Bank in Avignon-France was examined using 13 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A total of 69 alleles were detected, with an average of 5.31 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content of SSR markers ranged from 0.19 to 0.57 (average 0.38). Based on cluster analysis, two major groups were defined. The first major group included only one accession (61), while the rest of all accessions grouped in the second major group and separated into different sub-clusters. Based on SSR markers, cluster analysis indicated that considerably high genetic variability exists among the examined accessions; however, Turkish snake melon accessions were grouped together with the reference snake melon accessions.

Genetic transformation in citrus.

Citrus is one of the world's important fruit crops. Recently, citrus molecular genetics and biotechnology work have been accelerated in the world. Genetic transformation, a biotechnological tool, allows the release of improved cultivars with desirable characteristics in a shorter period of time and therefore may be useful in citrus breeding programs. Citrus transformation has now been achieved in a number of laboratories by various methods. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is used mainly in citrus transformation studies. Particle bombardment, electroporation, A. rhizogenes, and a new method called RNA interference are used in citrus transformation studies in addition to A. tumefaciens. In this review, we illustrate how different gene transformation methods can be employed in different citrus species.

Micropropagation of banana.

Banana (Musa spp. AAA) is propagated vegetatively and can be rapidly and efficiently propagated by micropropagation. Conventional micropropagation techniques, however, may be too costly for commercial purposes. Our laboratory has found that depending on the combination of culture vessel and gelling agent more economic methods can be chosen for successfully micropropagating banana.