Among the most significant environmental pressures affecting plant development, productivity, and the long-term viability of the ecosystem overall is drought. More commonly occurring droughs brought on by climate change are aggravating issues in agriculture all throughout the globe. Improving crop capacity to withstand drought will help them to be more drought-tolerant. A optimistic approach to make plants more resistant to dryness is to add genes that regulate how plants utilize water, balance of osmotic pressure, and how cells respond to being dry. Emphasizing many approaches and biological mechanisms that enable plants to manage water stress better, this article examines how genetic engineering can enable plants to withstand drought better. One of the greatest approaches to handle drought stress is altering genes regulating abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. In this process, ABA is a fundamental hormone. By helping stomata close and roots absorb more water, overexpressing AVA biosynthetic genes or altering AVA receptors helps plants manage with not enough water. By regulating the synthesis of genes that shield cells during drought, changing stress-responsive transcription factors such as the DREB (dehydration-responsive element-binding protein) family—has also been proven to provide drought resistance to plants. Another crucial approach to increase drought resistance in plants is adding genes coding for osmoprotectants such proline, glycine betaine, and trehalose. These compounds shield enzymes inside cells from osmotic stress and help maintain stable cell architecture. Furthermore, producing GMO plants with enhanced antioxidant defences would help shield plant cells from oxidative damage brought on by persistent stress. More recent developments in CRISpen-Cas9 and other genome-editing technologies have made it simpler to deliberately modify drought-related genes, therefore enabling plants to better withstand drought. These developments allow one to create genetically modified plants devoid of numerous undesired side effects. This facilitates the growth of crops capable of withstanding environmental conditions and higher output. Though there are certain issues that need to be addressed, genetic engineering offers great possibilities to tackle others. These include issues with laws, public opinion of genetically modified organisms, and the need of field testing these plants. The final section of this work discusses how genetic modification could affect drought tolerance of plants. It emphasizes the need of individuals from many disciplines cooperating and doing research to ensure that these technologies may be effectively used for sustainable farming.
Keywords: Genetic Engineering, Drought Tolerance, CRISPR-Cas9, Osmoprotectants, Transgenic Plants
How to cite this article:Tiwari P, Patil M, Jain S, Jagdale N, Datkhile K.., Enhancing Drought Tolerance in Plants Through Genetic Engineering .Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(1s): 1191-1205; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16. 1191-1205