This review serves as a critical roadmap, emphasizing that collaboration is vital to translate genomic data into resilient, nutritious, and climate-adapted tropical forage cultivars, securing the future of sustainable livestock production.
Abstract
Brazil is the global leader in the production and export of tropical forage seeds. The livestock sector primarily relies on tropical grasses, including species of Urochloa and Megathirsus maximus, as well as other genera such as Paspalum, Cenchrus, and Setaria. The sustainability and competitiveness of this sector are increasingly threatened by climate change and biotic stresses. While conventional breeding has made progress, enhancing genetic gains requires advanced molecular tools due to the biological complexity of these grasses. Given the growing importance of forage genomics, this paper provides an up-to-date overview of genomic resources available for the main tropical forage species. We synthesized the state-of-the-art applications of genomics, transcriptomics, and functional genetics in forage research, consolidating findings from Brazilian and international institutions. In recent years, significant advances have been made, including the assembly of reference genomes, the development of comprehensive transcriptomic datasets, and the construction of high-density linkage maps. Despite the recent increase in genomic data, we identified significant bottlenecks, including the need for reference pangenomes, standardized phenotyping platforms, and robust functional validation pipelines for novel genes. This review serves as a critical roadmap, emphasizing that collaboration is vital to translate genomic data into resilient, nutritious, and climate-adapted tropical forage cultivars, securing the future of sustainable livestock production.
Egyptian cotton, derived primarily from Gossypium barbadense L., has shaped the country’s agricultural economy and international reputation for nearly two centuries. Among these, the Giza varieties—renowned for their exceptional fiber length, fineness, and strength—have garnered global recognition and made substantial contributions to export revenues and rural livelihoods. This review systematically analyzes more than 120 scientific publications from the past 30 years. It synthesizes research advances in Egypt, focusing on germplasm resources, fiber anatomical characteristics, variety improvement, and the integration of molecular and biotechnological tools. Progress in molecular markers, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) is highlighted for its role in dissecting traits related to fiber quality and stress tolerance. Experimental transformation studies and functional genomics have provided proof-of-concept for genes involved in insect resistance and fiber development. At the same time, genome editing—particularly clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) systems—represents an emerging frontier for precise trait improvement in G. barbadense. Molecular markers have been used to assess genetic diversity within Egyptian cotton germplasm, enabling the development of unique varietal fingerprints and guiding breeding programs to improve yield, quality, and stress resilience. Techniques such as QTL mapping and GWAS facilitate the identification of genomic regions underlying key traits, thereby establishing a foundation for marker-assisted selection. Specific Egyptian varieties—including Giza 94 (a heat-tolerant variety), Giza 95 (a drought-tolerant variety), and Giza 90/Giza 97 (salinity-tolerant varieties)—have demonstrated measurable stress resilience in controlled and field trials. However, formal release designations for these traits remain lacking. Concurrently, functional genomics approaches have enabled the characterization of genes involved in fiber development in Egyptian cotton. Furthermore, biotechnological innovations—including experimental Bt-transformation and the emerging precision of CRISPR/Cas genome editing—offer promising pathways to introduce adaptive traits more efficiently.
Ibrahim A. A. Mohamed, Usama Abdel Hameid Abdel Razek, Junjuan Wang et al.· Journal of Cotton Research· 0 citations
The evidence indicates that breeding has delivered clear gains in adaptation, hybrid performance, oil composition and resistance to selected diseases, but progress is markedly less consistent for complex traits expressed across variable environments.
P. Kumari, Deep Shikha, A. Jha et al.· Journal of Advances in Biolo...· 0 citations
Evidence on the breeding and omics-based improvement of underutilised legumes is synthesised, identifying a persistent disconnection between genomic resource generation, downstream trait validation, breeding pipeline integration and farmer-level variety release.
Ajesh J. Nair, C. Anjali, M. Nivedhitha et al.· Journal of Advances in Biolo...· 0 citations
By combining genomic data with precision breeding techniques, researchers are developing crops that are better adapted to a growing population and a changing climate, positioning the integration of molecular breeding and bioinformatics as a central pillar of future global food security.
Muhammad Shahid Iqbal, Z. Sarfraz, Muhammad Mujahid et al.· Frontiers in Plant Science· 0 citations
