This review explores plant drought memory, emphasizing molecular and physiological strategies plants use to encode, retain, and leverage stress imprints for enhanced resilience. The roles of DNA methylation, histone remodeling, small RNAs, and abscisic acid are highlighted. Memory-induced root system plasticity, transgenerational inheritance, and interactions with beneficial soil microbes are also discussed. By integrating cutting-edge tools like CRISPR-Cas9 and single-cell multi-omics, this work presents a path toward engineering drought-resilient crops to tackle climate volatility and global food security challenges.

This article belongs to the collection: Functional Genomics for Developing Climate Resilient Crops - Volume II.

This study identifies and characterises the calmodulin (CAM) and calmodulin-like (CML) gene family in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). Expression analyses under abiotic stress conditions revealed key genes potentially involved in stress responses, particularly drought and salinity. These findings provide insights into the functional roles of CaM and CML genes and their application in developing stress-tolerant watermelon varieties.

This article belongs to the collection: Functional Genomics for Developing Climate Resilient Crops - Volume II.