Cytochrome P450s (CYPs) are the largest enzyme family involved in NADPH- and/or O₂-dependent hydroxylation reactions across all the domains of life. In plants and animals, CYPs play a central role in the detoxification of xenobiotics. In addition to this function, CYPs act as versatile catalysts and play a crucial role in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, antioxidants, and phytohormones in higher plants. The molecular and biochemical processes catalyzed by CYPs have been well characterized, however, the relationship between the biochemical process catalyzed by CYPs and its effect on several plant functions was not well established. The advent of next-generation sequencing opened new avenues to unravel the involvement of CYPs in several plant functions such as plant stress response. The expression of several CYP genes are regulated in response to environmental stresses, and they also play a prominent role in the crosstalk between abiotic and biotic stress responses. CYPs have an enormous potential to be used as a candidate for engineering crop species resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses. The objective of this review is to summarize the latest research on the role of CYPs in plant stress response.

Genetic diversity is the main source of variability in any crop improvement program. It serves as a reservoir for identifying superior alleles controlling key agronomic and quality traits through allele mining/association mapping. Association mapping based on LD (Linkage dis-equilibrium), non-random associations between causative loci and phenotype in natural population is highly useful in dissecting out genetic basis of complex traits. For any successful association mapping program, understanding the population structure and assessing the kinship relatedness is essential before making correlation between superior alleles and traits. The present study was aimed at evaluating the genetic variation and population structure in a collection of 192 rice germplasm lines including local landraces, improved varieties and exotic lines from diverse origin. A set of 192 diverse rice germplasm lines were genotyped using 61 genome wide SSR markers to assess the molecular genetic diversity and genetic relatedness. Genotyping of 192 rice lines using 61 SSRs produced a total of 205 alleles with the PIC value of 0.756. Population structure analysis using model based and distance based approaches revealed that the germplasm lines were grouped into two distinct subgroups. AMOVA analysis has explained that 14 % of variation was due to difference between with the remaining 86 % variation may be attributed by difference within groups. Based on these above analysis viz., population structure and genetic relatedness, a core collection of 150 rice germplasm lines were assembled as an association mapping panel for establishing marker trait associations.

Grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is an important crop with diverse uses throughout the world.¹ Sorghum is known to have originated from sub-Saharan Africa, where it has been used as a major food crop.² Grain sorghum has a vast genetic diversity with many genotypes possessing agronomically desirable traits.³ Traditionally, sorghum is used in the Western Hemisphere as animal feed; however, other uses include biofuel, forage production, and as a gluten-free alternative for human consumption.^3,4 In the United States, grain sorghum ranks the fifth-most important grain crop with 1.9 million hectares harvested in 2019.⁵ As sorghum is adapted to semi-arid regions of the world, it has been shown to have distinct yield advantages over corn (Zea mays L.) in such environments.⁶

Wild buckwheat (Polygonum convolvulus L.) is a problem weed and ALS-inhibitors (e.g., chlorsulfuron) are commonly used for its management. Recently, a population of wild buckwheat (KSW-R) uncontrolled with ALS-inhibitors was found in a wheat field in Kansas, USA. The objectives of this research were to determine the level and mechanism of resistance to chlorsulfuron and cross resistance to other ALS-inhibitors in the KSW-R population. In response to chlorsulfuron rates ranging from 0 to 16x (x = 18 g ai/ha), the KSW-R wild buckwheat was found >100-fold more resistant compared to a known ALS-inhibitor susceptible (KSW-S) wild buckwheat. Also, >90% of KSW-R plants survived field recommended rates of sulfonylurea but not imidazolinone family of ALS-inhibitors. A portion of the ALS gene covering all previously reported mutations known to bestow resistance to ALS-inhibitors was sequenced from both KSW-R and KSW-S plants. The Pro-197-Ser substitution that confers resistance to the sulfonylurea herbicides was found in KSW-R plants. Our results support the evolution of high level of chlorsulfuron resistance as a result of a mutation in the ALS-gene in KSW-R buckwheat. This is the first case of resistance to any herbicides in wild buckwheat in the US.