Climate change affects agricultural productivity worldwide. Increased prices of food commodities are the initial indication of drastic edible yield loss, which is expected to increase further due to global warming. This situation has compelled plant scientists to develop climate change-resilient crops, which can withstand broad-spectrum stresses such as drought, heat, cold, salinity, flood, submergence and pests, thus helping to deliver increased productivity. Genomics appears to be a promising tool for deciphering the stress responsiveness of crop species with adaptation traits or in wild relatives toward identifying underlying genes, alleles or quantitative trait loci. Molecular breeding approaches have proven helpful in enhancing the stress adaptation of crop plants, and recent advances in high-throughput sequencing and phenotyping platforms have transformed molecular breeding to genomics-assisted breeding (GAB). In view of this, the present review elaborates the progress and prospects of GAB for improving climate change resilience in crops, which is likely to play an ever increasing role in the effort to ensure global food security.

The plant rhizosphere interfaces an array of microbiomes related to plant growth and development. Cultivar-specific soil microbial communities with respect to their taxonomic structure and specific function have not been investigated explicitly in improving the adaptation of lentil cultivars under rice-fallow ecology. The present study was carried out to decipher the rhizosphere microbiome assembly of two lentil cultivars under rice-fallow ecology for discerning the diversity of microbial communities and for predicting the function of microbiome genes related to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling processes deploying high-throughput whole (meta) genome sequencing. The metagenome profile of two cultivars detected variable microbiome composition with discrete metabolic activity. Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Thaumarchaeota were abundant phyla in the “Farmer-2” rhizosphere, whereas Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, Planctomycetes, Chloroflexi, and some incompletely described procaryotes of the “Candidatus” category were found to be robustly enriched the rhizosphere of “Moitree”. Functional prediction profiles of the microbial metagenomes between two cultivars revealed mostly house keeping genes with general metabolism. Additionally, the rhizosphere of “Moitree” had a high abundance of genes related to denitrification processes. Significant difference was observed regarding P cycling genes between the cultivars. “Moitree” with a profuse root system exhibited better N fixation and translocation ability due to a good “foraging strategy” for improving acquisition of native P under the nutrient depleted rice-fallow ecology. However, “Farmer-2” revealed a better “mining strategy” for enhancing P solubilization and further transportation to sinks. This study warrants comprehensive research for explaining the role of microbiome diversity and cultivar–microbe interactions towards stimulating microbiome-derived soil reactions regarding nutrient availability under rice-fallow ecology.

The pink oyster mushroom, scientifically known as Pleurotus djamor, is characterized by its appealing color, positive sensory qualities, substantial nutritional content, and its possession of antioxidant, antimicrobial, and medicinal properties. Mushrooms degrade lignocellulosic substrates through lignocellulosic enzyme production and utilize the degraded products to produce their fruiting bodies, contributing to sustainable agriculture and forestry and a short-term generation of income. The present study was carried out to assess the effect of various cultural parameters viz. temperatures, pH, solid culture media, carbon, and nitrogen sources on mycelial growth of the fungus and to identify the suitable grain for spawn production, optimum dose of spawn and suitable substrate for obtaining the highest yield of the mushroom. All of the experiments were conducted following standard protocols after procuring the pure culture of P. djamor from DMR-Solan. The optimum temperature for mycelial growth of the fungus was 28 °C at pH 7.5, and the best solid culture media was oat meal agar. Starch was the best carbon source and 0.3% L-asparagine served as the best source of nitrogen. Sorghum grains promoted the fastest spawn production. Out of five different doses of spawn and two assessed substrates, 4% spawn on paddy straw promoted the highest yield.