Orphan crops: A genetic treasure trove for hunting stress tolerance genes

Deciphering the complexities of abiotic stress tolerance is a huge task and requires good model crops for investigation. Advancements in genomic technologies have made it possible to sequence and analyze a large number of orphan crops, which are known for their abiotic stress tolerance potential. AbstractOrphan crops, also known as minor crops, smart foods, and superfoods, have attracted great attention recently because of their unique ability to grow in resource-poor marginal lands, and under harsh environmental conditions without any intensive agricultural care. These crops possess inherent tolerance against different abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, cold, and heat. Recent advancements in genomic resources and high-throughput phenotyping platforms have provided opportunities to explore the untapped potential of orphan crops to identify novel gene source(s) and mechanism(s) for developing abiotic stress-tolerant crops. Moreover, genomics-assisted investigations into the various physiological and molecular mechanism(s) could provide useful insights into stress tolerance mechanisms in these plants. Nevertheless, translating the hidden power of the tolerant gene pools from the orphan crops into major staple crops for enhancing their stress tolerance while maintaining yield is a challenging task. The contemporary tools of genomics can be used to unravel the secret of stress tolerance in orphan crops and employ these untapped genes for tailoring stress-tolerant crop va...
Source: Food and Energy Security - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: REVIEW Source Type: research