Abiotic Stress Tolerant Transgenic Plants and Nanotechnology

Crop plants are adversely affected by abiotic stresses. Drought is the most widespread and damaging of all environmental stresses. At the global level, significant proportion of cultivable land masses is affected by high salt levels. Heat and cold stresses profoundly affect agricultural yields of major crops. Also, the level of abiotic stresses is on the rise due to both natural and man-made interventions. The ambient temperature is gradually increasing due to the increased levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. The episodes of drought and flooding stress have become more erratic over the years. The production of transgenic crops that can withstand increased level of abiotic stresses is a silver lining to sustain and increase food production in future. Techniques of producing transgenic crops need to be improvised to achieve high frequency transformation. Current experiments deploying nanotechnology tools for gene delivery are extremely relevant in production of new generation of transgenic plants. With such tools, it would be possible to experimentally produce higher number of transgenic lines and screen out the transgenic lines showing desired phenotype in higher numbers. In the ensuing paragraphs, we delve on the current status of abiotic stress tolerant transgenic crops and also project how nanotechnology tools can help in future endeavors.