Sustainable and Genomics Approaches for Date Palm Improvement to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses

The ability of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) to grow in hot and dry regions of the world makes it an important subsistence crop in most arid areas, nevertheless biotic and abiotic stresses are serious threats to date palm causing yield loss worldwide. Here, we employed sustainable and genomics tools aiming to improve date palm tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Our studies on fungal diseases of date palm reported Ceratocystis radicicola as the causal agent of black scorch disease. Towards a sustainable control of this disease, we developed an eco-friendly method of biological control by isolation, identifying and examination the effectiveness of bio-agents in both in vitro and in vivo. Results demonstrate the efficiency and utility of using bio-agents in controlling black scorch disease. Additionally, the whole genome of C. radicicola was sequenced and assembled using genomics and bioinformatics tools. Information from the fungal genome sequencing will help in designing an effective genetic control of black scorch disease. In abiotic stress side, the whole genome expression of date palm is profiled using RNA-Seq to decipher mechanisms of abiotic tolerance and to identify tolerance genes. Altogether implication of sustainable and genomics approaches are highly useful in developing new strategies to improve date palm tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, which will further lead to increase the sustainable food supply and enriching the ecosystem.