Integrating Omics and Gene Editing Tools for Rapid Improvement of Traditional Food Plants for Diversified and Sustainable Food Security

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Sushil Kumar¹  Ajay Kumar²  Sajana Sreedharan²  Thattantavide Anju²  Yong Pyo Lim³  Su Ryun Choi³  Sushil Satish Chhapekar³  Sonam Singh³  Nirala Ramchiary⁴ 

[1] Department of Botany, Govt. Degree College, Kishtwar 182204, Jammu and Kashmir, India;Department of Plant Science, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod 671316, Kerala, India;Molecular Genetics & Genomics Laboratory, Department of Horticulture, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea;School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, Delhi, India;

关键词: traditional food plants;    climate change;    food security;    omics;    translational genomics;    gene editing;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms22158093

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Indigenous communities across the globe, especially in rural areas, consume locally available plants known as Traditional Food Plants (TFPs) for their nutritional and health-related needs. Recent research shows that many TFPs are highly nutritious as they contain health beneficial metabolites, vitamins, mineral elements and other nutrients. Excessive reliance on the mainstream staple crops has its own disadvantages. Traditional food plants are nowadays considered important crops of the future and can act as supplementary foods for the burgeoning global population. They can also act as emergency foods in situations such as COVID-19 and in times of other pandemics. The current situation necessitates locally available alternative nutritious TFPs for sustainable food production. To increase the cultivation or improve the traits in TFPs, it is essential to understand the molecular basis of the genes that regulate some important traits such as nutritional components and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. The integrated use of modern omics and gene editing technologies provide great opportunities to better understand the genetic and molecular basis of superior nutrient content, climate-resilient traits and adaptation to local agroclimatic zones. Recently, realizing the importance and benefits of TFPs, scientists have shown interest in the prospection and sequencing of TFPs for their improvements, cultivation and mainstreaming. Integrated omics such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and ionomics are successfully used in plants and have provided a comprehensive understanding of gene-protein-metabolite networks. Combined use of omics and editing tools has led to successful editing of beneficial traits in several TFPs. This suggests that there is ample scope for improvement of TFPs for sustainable food production. In this article, we highlight the importance, scope and progress towards improvement of TFPs for valuable traits by integrated use of omics and gene editing techniques.

【 授权许可】

Unknown