Genetic Manipulation of Crop for Enhanced Food Quality and Nutrition Toward Sustainable Production

Abstract

AbstractFood supply due to the global population growth is the major challenge at present faced by modern society. It is very difficult to feed major populations without harming the environment. To overcome these issues, advancement in plant biotechnology is needed providing new tools to farmers and food manufacturers along with conventional breeding programs. A number of biotechnological measures are under considerations such as development of transgenic crops for improved yield, quality, and traits with improved property having better adaptation with adverse environmental conditions. Genome editing tools advanced the biotechnological tools for enabling the precise and targeted modifications in the genome for the development of new plant varieties for disease resistance, quality, yield improvement, etc. Genome editing is a powerful tool which has been utilized in a vast variety of plants to characterize and identify the specific gene functions for improving agricultural traits. CRISPR-Cas genome editing technology emerges as a precise genetic manipulation beyond all expectations in plant molecular biology. This provides opportunity to develop beneficial traits for sustainable agricultural system. In this chapter, we briefly describe the different biotechnological advancements such as precise genome editing, synthetic biology, conventional breeding techniques, and nutraceutical research for improving food quality and nutrition.KeywordsGenome editingCRISPR-CasNutraceuticalGenetic transformationSustainableYield