Transcriptomics Application in Plant Breeding

The increasing human populationPopulation with time is leading to food shortages and compromises in the qualityQuality of food. Plant breedingBreeding is a vital part of agriculture since it ensures food security for a emerging global populationPopulation. The primary goal of plant breedingBreeding is to develop cropsCrop that exhibit higher yieldsYield. TranscriptomicsTranscriptomics has transformed plant breedingBreeding by enabling breeders to develop plants with desired traitsTraits and to comprehend a plant’s reaction towards stressesStress at molecular level. It helps in analyzing gene expressionExpression patterns and investigating the functional genes potentially responsible for beneficial traitsTraits across different plant varieties. Furthermore, it aids breeders in working with a wider range of plant species, especially those that have less genetic information. Moreover, the use of RNA-Seq markersMarkers in markerMarkers-assistedMarker-assisted selection selectionSelection allows for the prompt and precise identification of plants possessing desired characteristics at seedling stage. This significantly reduces the frequency of breedingBreeding cycles and accelerates the process of generating novel cropCrop types. This chapter delves into the traditional and contemporary methodologies of plant breedingBreeding. It encompasses the hybridizationHybridization techniques, sequence-based approachApproach, and the most advanced applications of RNA-sequencingSequencing (RNA-Seq) in breedingBreeding and selectionSelection. In addition, the application of transcriptomicsTranscriptomics in plant breedingBreeding and selectionSelection is also discussed in this chapter.