Field Crop 2024, Vol.7, No.1, 27-36 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/fc 29 varieties with excellent traits, such as high yield, disease resistance, insect resistance, drought resistance, etc.The identification of drought-tolerant and -resistant varieties, as demonstrated in the study conducted in the Sudan Savanna Zone of Nigeria, highlights the genetic variability in cassava's response to drought conditions. The study found that genotypic differences significantly influenced traits such as fresh root yield, fresh shoot yield, and root dry-matter content, suggesting a strong genetic basis for phenotypic differences among varieties (Okogbenin et al., 2003). Figure 1 Projected percent changes in cassava production under climate change scenarios (Pipitpukdee et al., 2020) Note: (a) baseline production (MT), (b) percent of change in production under RCP 4.5 and (c) percent of change in production under RCP8.5 The genetic diversity of cassava is also reflected in the complexity of its genome. The genome of cassava is large and contains a large number of genes and regulatory elements, which play important roles in the growth, development, and stress response of cassava. Zou et al. (2017) identified 260 candidate QTL genes for cold stress and 301 candidate QTL genes for cassava storage root quality and yield, which may explain the significant variations in these traits. Cassava, as a tropical crop, has a wide range of adaptability and can grow under different climate and soil conditions. Meanwhile, cassava also has a certain degree of stress resistance and can survive and grow under adverse conditions such as drought, salinity, and heavy metal pollution. The development of density oligomicroarrays by Fu et al. (2016) has made it possible to analyze the transcriptome of different genotypes of cassava under drought stress. The tool has identified approximately 1300 upregulated genes under drought stress, indicating that cassava has similar drought stress response and tolerance mechanisms to other plants. These ecological adaptations and stress resistance also provide cassava with the potential to resist stress. 2.2 Genetic response of cassava to climate change The genetic response of cassava to climate change can be observed through changes in physiological indicators, adaptation of metabolic pathways, and genomic level responses. Under drought conditions, cassava may accumulate some low molecular weight organic solutes (such as proline, betaine, etc.) to reduce cell osmotic potential, thereby maintaining water and maintaining cell turgor pressure. Climate change may lead to changes in gene expression in cassava, including transcriptional regulation (such as promoter activity, transcription factor expression, etc.) and post transcriptional regulation (such as mRNA stability, translation efficiency, etc.), which may affect the growth, development, and stress resistance of cassava. Physiological and transcriptome analyses under dehydration stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatments have shown that cassava roots respond quicker to drought, with significant induction of genes related to glycolysis, abiotic stress, and biosynthesis of abscisic acid and ethylene (Fu et al., 2016). Furthermore, the
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