Plant Science Today, ISSN 2348-1900 (online) OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE HISTORY Received: 31 March 2023 Accepted: 05 October 2023 Available online Version 1.0 : 19 October 2023 Additional information Peer review: Publisher thanks Sectional Editor and the other anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Reprints & permissions information is available at https://horizonepublishing.com/ journals/index.php/PST/open_access_policy Publisher’s Note: Horizon e-Publishing Group remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Indexing: Plant Science Today, published by Horizon e-Publishing Group, is covered by Scopus, Web of Science, BIOSIS Previews, Clarivate Analytics, NAAS,UGC Care etc. See https://horizonepublishing.com/journals/ index.php/PST/indexing_abstracting Copyright: © The Author(s). This is an open- access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) CITE THIS ARTICLE Mirzakhmedov M K, Kamalova L K, Ayubov M S, Normurodova K T, Ubaydullaeva K A, Buriev Z T, Abdurakhmonov I Y. Target genes utilized for drought tolerance enhancement in maize. Plant Science Today (Early Access). https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.2561 Abstract Among the most widely grown cereal crops is maize, which is a staple food for millions of people worldwide. It is primarily used for human consumption in various forms, animal feed, and industrial applications. In many countries like Mexico, Africa, and South America, it is the main source of calories in their daily diet, making it crucial for food security. Many nations worldwide are more at risk of drought as global warming continues to accelerate. One of the major hurdles to food production in the twenty-first century and a serious threat to our present and future food security is a water crisis. Crop failure due to water scarcity can put millions of lives at risk. Along with traditional breeding, transgenic approaches are an essential tool in modern plant breeding. They allow the introduction of beneficial genes from other organisms or within the same organism to improve plant characteristics. This review focuses on specific genes that are stably expressed and tested for drought tolerance in maize. Several genes have been identified as potential targets for improving drought tolerance in maize. Although mechanisms of target genes overlap to some extent, we attempted to divide the selected research articles according to the mechanism of the targeted gene into categories and reviewed them. Keywords Drought stress; maize; overexpression; transgene Introduction Drought appears to be the most expensive disaster when compared to floods, wildfires, diseases, and infestations. Between 2005 and 2015, it caused 30 percent of agricultural losses, amounting to over USD 29 billion in developing countries. Drought has a more significant impact on the agriculture sector, bearing 83 percent of all the damage and losses caused by drought (1). Drought stress poses a prevalent and severe environmental stressor that plants encounter, particularly in regions with arid and semi-arid climates. It occurs when soil moisture levels fall below the critical threshold required for plant growth and development. Consequently, the physiological, biochemical, and molecular alterations that occur in response to drought stress can adversely affect crop yield and productivity in plants. Drought stress can affect plant growth by influencing processes such as photosynthesis, water uptake and transport, nutrient absorption, and protein synthesis. Plants respond to drought stress by activating a range of adaptive mechanisms, including osmotic adjustment, antioxidant defense, and stomatal closure (2,3). Drought tolerance in crops refers to the ability of plants to survive extended periods of water scarcity, reducing yield losses PLANT SCIENCE TODAY ISSN 2348-1900 (online) Vol x(x): xx–xx https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.2561 HORIZON e-Publishing Group Target genes utilized for drought tolerance enhancement in maize Mukhammadjon K. Mirzakhmedov 1 *, Lola K. Kamalova 1 , Mirzakamol S. Ayubov 1 , Kunduz T Normurodova 2 , Khurshida A. Ubaydullaeva 1 , Zabardast T. Buriev 1 , Ibrokhim Y. Abdurakhmonov 1 1 Bioinformatics Laboratory, Center of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences of, University Street 2, Tashkent, 111215, Uzbekistan 2 Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Biology faculty, National University of Uzbekistan, University Street 4, Tashkent, 100174, Uzbekistan *Email: mirzakhmedov.m@gmail.com MINI REVIEW ARTICLE