Executive Summary : | Plants are constantly subjected to a range of stressors in the field, and as a result, they have evolved strategies for dealing with these constraints. The concomitant occurrence of multiple stresses in the field condition has seriously impeded global agricultural productivity in recent years. The rapid worldwide climate change has greatly amplified the impact of such pressures on crop plants. Drought and fungal diseases are major yield-limiting factors in the Indian context. Brown spot disease (BSD) of rice, caused by the fungus Bipolaris oryzae, was an important driver of the Bengal Famine (1943), and it is still a debilitating fungal disease of rice that notably affects India's North-Eastern (NE) and Eastern regions. Drought reduces crop productivity and contributes to the spread of BSD. Plants are subjected to a variety of stressors in the field, yet the majority of biotechnological and breeding experiments are centered on curbing a specific stress factor. Certain stress interactions have a positive or negative impact on one another. Ethylene is reported to trigger BSD; however, ABA and auxin give resilience to both BSD and drought. Despite this, neither the pertinent genes nor the genetic pathways have been uncovered. Furthermore, notwithstanding the production losses incurred by BSD and the disease's widespread prevalence, no long-lasting BSD-resistant/tolerant rice cultivar has been generated in India thus far. At the moment, its management tactics are based on the usage of fungicides, which is detrimental to the ecosystem. Recently in a study, we reported BSD-susceptible NE rice cultivars as well as BSD-associated negative regulatory disease susceptibility genes (Marwein et al. Gene, 2022). Using CRISPR-Cas9/Cpf1 mediated genome editing technology, the envisaged study sought to elucidate the genetic mechanism underpinning BSD-drought tolerance in NE rice cultivars and establish durable BSD-drought tolerance in NE rice cultivars. The study's findings would be noticeable and intriguing because transgene-free Non-GM BSD-drought resilient rice not only upholds paddy production but also helps avoid the use of chemical fungicides, making a substantial contribution to the environment and society. |
Co-PI: | Dr. Natarajan Velmurugan, CSIR-North - East Institute Of Science And Technology, Jorhat, Assam-785006, Dr. Tridip Phukan, CSIR-North - East Institute Of Science And Technology, Jorhat, Assam-785006 |