The Role of Transcriptomics in Identifying Drought-Resistant Plant Species: A Review of Methodologies and Insights

Drought stress is a primary abiotic factor limiting global agricultural productivity and food security. To develop resilient crop varieties, identifying the molecular mechanisms that confer drought tolerance is essential. Transcriptomics, the large-scale study of the transcriptome (the complete set of RNA transcripts), has emerged as a transformative tool in this pursuit. By analyzing differential gene expression (DGE) under water-deficit conditions, researchers can pinpoint key regulatory genes, transcription factors, and metabolic pathways involved in drought adaptation. This review discusses the various transcriptomic approaches-including RNA-Seq and microarrays-their integration with bioinformatics, and how they facilitate the identification of drought-resistant genotypes. Finally, we highlight the transition from descriptive transcriptomics to functional genomics and the future of precision breeding.

کلیدواژه ها:

Transcriptomics ، RNA-Seq ، Drought Stress ، Gene Expression ، Abiotic Stress ، Plant Resilience ، Bioinformatics.