Description
Scitus Academics Omics Technologies And Crop Improvement by Ranveer Singh
In view of ever-growing population and decreasing natural resources, there is need to enhance food production that can possibly be achieved by improving upon qualitative and quantitative traits of crop plants by adopting new analytical tools and technologies. During the last decade or so rapid progress has been made in plant biology, especially with the introduction of high throughput ‘omics’ technologies. The three main omics technologies – genomics, proteomics and metabolomics involve quantification and characterization of genome, proteome and metabolome, respectively, with extremely rapid, miniaturized and automated methods. These technologies are aimed at unraveling the overall expression of genes, proteins and metabolites in a functionally relevant context, and provide insights into the molecular basis of various fundamental processes involved in growth and development of plants and their environment. The development of sequencing techniques and availability of genomes’ information on model organisms, Arabidopsis thaliana, rice, etc., have greatly influenced the disciplines of plant and crop sciences. Gene discovery and gene expression profiling technologies are creating an unprecedented opportunity for plant breeders who can now apply molecular markers to assess and enhance diversity in their germplasm collections, to introgress valuable traits from new sources and identify genes that control key traits. The genomics technologies have been found useful in deciphering the multigenicity of biotic and abiotic plant stress responses through genome sequences, stress specific cell and tissue transcript collections, transcript, protein and metabolite profiles and their dynamic changes, protein interactions and mutant screens. As a consequence of the use of high throughput omics methods a vast amount of raw data is generated which is stored, processed and analyzed with the help of bioinformatics tools. This book provides focuses on how omics can help crop science and horticulture and presents the benefits of using these technologies to increase crop yields and other features such as resistance and nutritional values. The book also highlights crop improvements such as increased yield, disease resistance, drought resistance and value-added performance through a non-transgenic format.