Molecular Insights and Conventional Breeding Approaches to Enhance Drought Resilience in Sorghum

Drought is one of the major factors that reduces the grain yield of the crops, and it can cause total failure depending on the severity and development stage of the crop. The occurrence of drought is a common phenomenon in the dry lowland areas due to unpredictable weather conditions. Sorghum is a model cereal crop that can grow in a harsh environment where moisture stress is a limiting factor for other crops. Investigating the mechanisms of the crop in responding to drought stress is a fundamental aspect of designing a breeding strategy for drought‐prone areas. This review synthesizes the various drought‐responsive mechanisms and breeding approaches that contribute to providing information for the holistic breeding systems. The previous and current research studies have been incorporated to provide a holistic understanding for breeders that contribute to designing an effective breeding strategy for developing drought adaptive traits. The holistic research approach is essential for the identification of drought‐responsive mechanisms of the plants to cope with moisture stress, which include physiological, morphological, biochemical, and molecular responses to drought stress. The approach helps to identify consistent patterns, the knowledge gaps, and where the research findings may differ. Therefore, the responsive‐mechanisms are reviewed in responding to drought stress. The physiological responsive mechanisms, such as water use efficiency (WUE), stomatal regulation, osmotic adjustment (OA), and stay‐green phenotype enable maintenance of photosynthesis and yield under drought stress conditions. In morphological responses to drought stress, deep root architecture, optimized canopy structure, and epicuticular wax deposition, enhance the crop’s water acquisition and reduce transpiration losses, playing a key role in drought adaptation. The molecular mechanisms of drought response are regulated by complex signaling networks involving abscisic acid (ABA), transcription factors (TFs), and stress‐responsive genes, including late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, dehydrins (DHNs), and aquaporins. Omics technologies like transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have contributed to the modification of major genes or traits, including the pathways linked with drought adaptations. These technologies are used to facilitate the development of drought adaptive traits using an integrated breeding approach, including conventional breeding, marker‐assisted selection, genomic selection (GS), and gene‐editing approaches. Therefore, this review has indicated detailed drought‐responsive mechanisms focusing on multiple drought adaptive traits, and an integrated breeding approach is crucial for the improvement of sorghum resilience, ensuring sustainable grain productivity and strengthen food security.