Plant Genomics - Its Emerging Role in Crop Improvement

In the last few years there has been rapid progress in the area of plant structural and functional genomics. Annotated genome sequences, transcriptomic data, and genetic maps of plant species are all potentially useful resources for improving crop breeding programs. Next-generation DNA sequencing technologies which permit whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing are relatively inexpensive and accessible for many research groups. These technologies can now be applied to any plant species to develop genomic resources and also adopted for high-throughput genotyping. Genomics discoveries are shedding new light on the dynamics, complexity, and evolution of plant genomes, leading to greater understanding of how plant biological systems work. However, implementation of genomics knowledge and tools into the different areas of plant breeding is still limited and challenging, so there is a strong need to push the development of plant genomics for the benefit plant breeding.