Triticeae Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol.16, No.4, 166-174 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/tgg 166 Research Insight Open Access Strategies to Improve Wheat's Drought and Heat Resistance ZhenLi Hainan Institute of Biotechnology, Haikou, 570206, Hainan, China Corresponding email: zhen.li@hibio.org Triticeae Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol.16, No.4 doi: 10.5376/tgg.2025.16.0018 Received: 11 Jun., 2025 Accepted: 24 Jul., 2025 Published: 11 Aug., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Li, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Li Z., 2025, Strategies to improve wheat's drought and heat resistance, Triticeae Genomics and Genetics, 16(4): 166-174 (doi: 10.5376/tgg.2025.16.0018) Abstract Wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) is a globally important staple crop whose productivity is increasingly threatened by climate stressors, particularly drought and heat. This study comprehensively reviews the physiological and molecular responses of wheat to drought and high temperature conditions, elaborates on the effects on plant growth and yield components, explores genetic strategies aimed at enhancing wheat stress resistance, including conventional breeding, molecular marker-assisted selection and gene editing technology, evaluates the role of agronomic and management measures such as optimized irrigation, nutrient management and crop adjustment in alleviating the effects of stress, and also focuses on the application of biotechnology and omics approaches (including transcriptomics, proteomics and microbiome engineering) in improving wheat adaptability. The effectiveness of the integrated strategy is evaluated through case studies in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Australian Wheat Belt and the Mediterranean region. This study highlights the importance of integrating multidisciplinary innovations for developing climate-resilient wheat systems, points out current knowledge gaps, and proposes directions for future research and development. Keywords Wheat; Drought tolerance; Heat stress; Genetic improvement; Climate-resilient agriculture 1 Introduction Wheat is the most widely grown crop in the world. It is a staple food for many people every day and is very important for human nutrition. It can be said that wheat is one of the core of global food security (Langridge and Reynolds, 2021; Bapela et al., 2022). Because of its strong adaptability, wheat can be grown in various climates. But this also makes it more vulnerable to environmental problems (Kulkarni et al., 2017). Drought and high temperature are the two main problems affecting wheat yields. These two problems often occur together, especially at important stages of wheat growth, which can greatly reduce yields (Farooq et al., 2017; Azmat et al., 2022). As the climate warms, drought and high temperature will occur more frequently and more severely. This is a big challenge for wheat cultivation (Tricker et al., 2018). When drought and high temperature occur together, the situation is particularly bad, not only will the number and weight of wheat grains decrease, but it will also affect its physiological and genetic performance (Omar et al., 2023). The goal of this study is to review what methods are currently available to help wheat better cope with drought and heat. We will look at some traditional methods, such as breeding improvements and agronomic measures, and also introduce some new technologies, such as nanomaterials and plant extracts. We will compare the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, share the latest research results, and propose directions for future research and improvement, hoping to help wheat maintain stable yields in the context of intensified climate change. 2 Physiological and Molecular Responses of Wheat to Drought and Heat 2.1 Key physiological responses When wheat is exposed to drought and high temperatures, it will respond to stress through some physical changes. For example, it will have less water in its body, less chlorophyll and carotenoids in its leaves, and slower photosynthesis (Sattar et al., 2020). Wheat often closes its stomata to reduce water evaporation, and the water relationship in its body will also change, such as changes in osmotic pressure and turgor pressure (Marček et al., 2019). Although these practices can help wheat save water, they will also affect its growth. In addition, wheat will accumulate some substances to adapt to drought, such as proline, sugar and protein. These are called "osmotic regulators" that can help cells maintain stability. It will also activate some antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD,
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