Can genomics deliver climate-change ready crops?. (October 2018) - Varshney, Rajeev K
Highlights: Sequencing and phenotyping of genebanks can provide superior alleles/haplotypes. NGS and precise phenotyping can be used for fast forward trait mapping. Pre-breeding is suggested to identify/introduce alleles for climate-change traits. Genomic selection and genome editing are the next generation breeding approaches. Integration of different disciplines is required to develop climate resilient crops. Abstract : Development of climate resilient crops with accelerating genetic gains in crops will require integration of different disciplines/technologies, to see the impact in the farmer's field. In this review, we summarize how we are utilizing our germplasm collections to identify superior alleles/haplotypes through NGS based sequencing approaches and how genomics-enabled technologies together with precise phenotyping are being used in crop breeding. Pre-breeding and genomics-assisted breeding approaches are contributing to the more efficient development of climate-resilient crops. It is anticipated that the integration of several disciplines/technologies will result in the delivery of climate change ready crops in less time.