The agricultural sector faces unprecedented challenges to ensure food security as the global population soars and climate change intensifies. Abiotic stresses are well-known for diminishing agricultural output and constraining crop yield generation worldwide. While conventional methods for managing crop stress fall short of meeting global demands, the integration of nanotechnology in agriculture offers a sustainable approach, providing a cornerstone for resilient and resource-efficient crop production in the face of evolving environmental challenges. Through targeted delivery systems and tailored formulations, nanoparticles exhibit the potential to enhance plant physiological processes, nutrient uptake efficiency, and stress tolerance mechanisms. This chapter describes the potential role of nanoparticles in abiotic stress management and activation of plant defence-related genes, improving the yield and quality of crops by combating nutrient deficiency and inducing stress tolerance. Moreover, it also discusses the potent molecular mechanisms upon application of nanoparticles for inducing tolerance to various abiotic stresses. However, while nanoparticle-based approaches hold great promise, their implementation also raises concerns regarding environmental impact, toxicity, regulatory frameworks, and socioeconomic implications.

Foot and mouth Disease virus (FMDV) belongs to Picornaviridae family and Aphthovirus genus causing Foot and mouth disease (FMD) in cloven-hoofed animals. FMDV, a prevalent virus induces both acute and chronic infections with high mutation rates resulting in seven primary serotypes, making vaccine development indispensable. Due to time and cost effectiveness of the immunoinformatic approach, we designed in-silico polyepitope vaccine (PEV) for the curtailment of FMDV. Structural and immunogenic parts of FMDV (Viral Protein 1 (VP1), Viral Protein 2 (VP2), Viral Protein 3 (VP3), and Viral Protein 4 (VP4)) were used to design the cytotoxic T Lymphocyte (CTL), Helper T Lymphocyte (HTL), and B-cell epitopes, followed by screening for antigenic, non-allergenic, Interferon (IFN) simulator, and non-toxicity, which narrowed down to 7 CTL, 3 HTL, and 12 B-cell epitopes. These selected epitopes were linked using appropriate linkers and Cholera Toxin B (CTB) adjuvant for immunological modulation. The physiochemical analyses followed by the structure prediction demonstrated the stability, hydrophilicity and solubility of the PEV. The interactions and stability between the vaccine, Toll like Receptor 3 (TLR3) and Toll like receptor 7 (TLR7) were revealed by molecular docking and Molecular Mechanics/Poisson Boltzmann Surface Area (MMPBSA) with high stability and compactness verified by MD simulation. In-silico immune simulation demonstrated a strong immunological response. FMDV-PEV (Poly epitope vaccine) will be effectively produced in an E. coli system, as codon optimization and cloning in an expression vector was performed. The effectiveness, safety, and immunogenicity profile of FMDV-PEV may be confirmed by further experimental validations.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Genetic engineering has revolutionized agriculture by transforming biotic and abiotic stress-resistance genes in plants. The biosafety of GM crops is a major concern for consumers and regulatory authorities. A 14-week biosafety and toxicity analysis of transgenic cotton, containing 5 transgenes ((Cry1Ac, Cry2A, CP4 EPSPS, VIP3Aa, and ASAL)), was conducted on albino mice. Thirty mice were divided into three groups (Conventional, Non-transgenic, without Bt, and transgenic, containing targeted crop) according to the feed given, with 10 mice in each group, with 5 male and 5 female mice in each group. During the study, no biologically significant changes were observed in the non-transgenic and transgenic groups compared to the control group in any of the study’s parameters i.e. increase in weight of mice, physiological, pathological, and molecular analysis, irrespective of the gender of the mice. However, a statistically significant change was observed in the hematological parameters of the male mice, while no such change was observed in the female study group mice. The expression analysis, however, of the TNF gene increases many folds in the transgenic group as compared to the non-transgenic and conventional groups. Overall, no physiological, pathological, or molecular toxicity was observed in the mice fed with transgenic feed. Therefore, it can be speculated that the targeted transgenic crop is biologically safe. However, more study is required to confirm the biosafety of the product on the animal by expression profiling.

Introduction: The presented study investigated the potential toxicity and safety concerns associated with transgenic maize seeds expressing immunogenic F and HN protein genes against Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Methodology: The experiment involved feeding Sprague–Dawley rats with transgenic maize seeds formulated into standard diets at levels of 30% (w/w) for a duration of 90 days. The rats were divided into three groups, with 10 rats per group. We assessed various parameters including overall appearance, feed consumption, body weight, organ weight, hematological parameters, serum chemistry, and histopathology. Results: The results of these assessments were compared between the control group and the treatment groups. The study findings revealed that there were no significant differences between the control and treatment groups in terms of overall appearance, feed consumption, body weight, organ weight, hematological parameters, serum chemistry, microscopic histopathology, and gross appearance of tissues. These observations suggest that the consumption of transgenic maize seeds did not lead to any treatment-related adverse effects or toxicological issues. Furthermore, the transgenic maize seeds were found to be nutritionally equivalent to their non-transgenic counterpart. Conclusion: Overall, no physiological, pathological, or molecular toxicity was observed in the Rats fed with transgenic feed.However, it is important to note that this study focused specifically on the parameters measured and the outcomes observed in Sprague–Dawley rats, and further research and studies are necessary to fully evaluate the safety and potential applications of transgenic edible vaccines in humans or other animals.