Abstract
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a socio-economically important crop in the Middle East and North Africa and a major contributor to food security in arid regions of the world. P. dactylifera is both drought and salt tolerant, but recent water shortages and increases in groundwater and soil salinity have threatened the continued productivity of the crop. Recent studies of date palm have begun to elucidate the physiological mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance and the genes and biochemical pathways that control the response to these stresses. Here we review recent studies on tolerance of date palm to salinity and drought stress, the role of the soil and root microbiomes in abiotic stress tolerance, and highlight recent findings of omic-type studies. We present a perspective on future research of abiotic stress in date palm that includes improving existing genome resources, application of genetic mapping to determine the genetic basis of variation in tolerances among cultivars, and adoption of gene-editing technologies to the study of abiotic stress in date palms. Development of necessary resources and application of the proposed methods will provide a foundation for future breeders and genetic engineers aiming to develop more stress-tolerant cultivars of date palm.
Highlights
Among the greatest challenges currently facing crop productivity worldwide are the salinization of arable land and pressures from various sources of abiotic stress
We describe how genes discovered by genetic mapping can be targeted by gene editing [e.g., by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) associated protein 9 (Cas9)] toward the goal of engineering varieties with improved stress tolerance
Application of omic methods has begun to detail the genes and biochemical pathways that control the response to abiotic stress in date palm
Summary
Among the greatest challenges currently facing crop productivity worldwide are the salinization of arable land and pressures from various sources of abiotic stress. We highlight recent work on the effects of salt and drought on P. dactylifera including studies using omics-based technologies and those examining root and soil microbiomes effects on stress tolerance in this species. We discuss the need for improved resources including well-established protocols for transformation and gene editing, plant materials such as those required for mapping studies, and broader application of omicrelated technologies to diverse cultivars of P. dactylifera and its Phoenix wild relatives.
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