Trends in Plant Genome-based Tools for Future Food Security under Changing Climate

Global food security is increasingly challenging in light of population increase, the impact of climate change on crop production, and limited land available for agricultural expansion. According to the World Food Programme, 135 million suffer from acute hunger largely due to man-made conflicts, climate change and economic downturns. The COVID-19 pandemic could now double that number, putting an additional 130 million people at risk of suffering acute hunger. Approximately 10,000 years ago plant breeding emerged as central approach for plant domestication and selection of desirable traits for number of generations to improve both quality and productivity. Recently, the availability of reference genomic sequence of various crop species has become the basis for crop genetics and genomics studies, providing insights on gene content, genomic variations and genomic basis of morphological, physiological and biochemical attributes of crop plants. Therefore, plant genome based tools e.g., marker assisted selection, genomic selection, QTL mapping, functional genomics, genetic engineering, genome editing, de-novo domestication and OMICs are powerful tools at our disposal and have contributed significantly for attaining sustainable agriculture under ever changing climate conditions, including involvement of genome-based strategies to obtain climate resilient varieties and crops that have high yield potential, yield stability, and superior grain quality and nutrition; nevertheless, limiting water consumption and reducing the use of fertilizer and chemicals. In this topical collection, a wide range of topics will be covered, including conventional and non-conventional genome-based plant breeding approaches, genomic region analysis, OMICs, epigenetics, and genotyping by sequencing based on breeding techniques for climate smart crops to improve agricultural production systems for achieving the United Nations second sustainable development goal of zero hunger under ever changing environmental conditions.

We invite researchers to contribute original research articles, reviews, short reviews and technical papers on the following topics, but not limited to:

1. Analysis of plant genome variability based on agronomic and morpho-physiological traits

2. Novel traits development through transgenic and genome editing for climate resilient crops

3. Genome wide association analysis for biotic and abiotic stress resistance

4. OMICs based intervention for crop improvement

5. Designing future crops in the era of genomic sequencing

6. Advancement in genomics for developing climate change ready crops

7. Genome editing for achieving food security