The Impact of Genomics Technology on Adapting Plants to Climate Change

Abstract

The application of genomics for crop improvement is relatively new, evolving from more traditional breeding approaches which relied predominantly on phenotypic selection. Recently, advances in DNA sequencing technology and the establishment of next generation DNA sequencing (NGS) technologies have revolutionised genomics and offer the potential to rapidly accelerate the genomics based breeding of crops. One of the most remarkable aspects of NGS is the ever reducing cost, opening the door for applications in very large and complex genomes, such as wheat, as well as in orphan or minor crops, where a relatively small investment can lead to significant crop improvement. Genomics based crop improvement can be seen as an extension of genetics. The development of molecular genetic markers and their association with heritable agronomic traits, combined with the increasing numbers of reference genome sequences and a greater understanding of genomic diversity is helping to rapidly expand genomics based crop improvement. Recently, genomics based breeding methods, such as genomic selection, have offered further potential to accelerate crop improvement practices. As the cost of DNA sequencing continues to drop, there will be ever greater potential to expand genomics based breeding technology for the development of diverse climate resilient crops.