Jul 2026· Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology· 0 citations
TL;DR
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.
Abstract
Oilseed crops underpin edible-oil supply, livestock feeding, industrial feedstocks and rural incomes, yet recent production growth has depended heavily on harvested-area expansion and remains concentrated in a small number of crops and regions. This critical narrative review examines the status of major annual oilseeds, the biological and institutional causes of uneven genetic progress, and the extent to which conventional breeding, genomics, phenomics, genomic prediction and genome editing can improve yield, stability, product quality and sustainability. Literature published principally from 2000 to 20 May 2026 was identified through accessible scholarly indexes, DOI registries and authoritative institutional sources, with foundational earlier studies retained where necessary. 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. Narrow breeding pools, polyploidy, structural variation, antagonism among seed yield, oil concentration and meal quality, weak phenotyping, and poorly connected seed systems constrain the conversion of gene discovery into cultivar-level impact. Pangenomes and high-density markers have improved variant discovery, while genomic selection can shorten cycles and raise selection intensity when training populations represent the target breeding population. Prediction often deteriorates across unrelated germplasm, environments and market classes, limiting claims of universal efficiency. Genome editing provides persuasive proof of concept for fatty-acid modification, flowering adaptation and shatter resistance, but transformation dependence, homoeologue redundancy, regulatory divergence and sparse multi-environment evidence impede routine deployment. The strongest path forward is therefore not technology substitution but integration: broad and strategically managed diversity, product-profile-led breeding, robust multi-environment phenotyping, dynamic genomic prediction, targeted editing, and delivery systems designed around farmers, processors and consumers. Future genetic improvement should be judged by realised, durable genetic gain per unit time and cost, together with nutritional, environmental and distributive outcomes.
Vegetable crops play an indispensable role in global food and nutritional security, yet their production is limited by many challenges. Biotechnology has revolutionised the improvement of vegetable crops worldwide through modern technologies such as genetic engineering, marker-assisted selection, CRISPR/Cas genome editing, tissue culture and molecular breeding, resulted in the development of climate-resilient, nutritionally enriched and highyielding cultivars that have helped to reshape the vegetable production system. Landmark achievements in plant biotechnology, namely virus-free planting material, multiple disease resistance, Bt brinjal, Flavr Savr tomato, Purple Tomato™, genome-edited GABA tomato and high anthocyanin/carotene content have revolutionised vegetable production systems globally. In addition, new intervention options such as biofortification, edible vaccines, RNA interference and biotechnology-based hybrid breeding are not only creating possibilities at the interface of agriculture and nutrition but also in public health. This status paper highlights recent advances, successful applications and emerging opportunities of biotechnology to strengthen vegetable production under changing climatic conditions.
Anjali, Akhilesh Sharma, D. Chaudhary et al.· Himachal journal of agricult...· 0 citations
Pea is a major pulse crop valued for its high protein, carbohydrate, and mineral content, as well as its agronomic role in sustainable cropping systems. In recent years, pea and other pulses are increasingly recognised as key components of the shift towards climate‐neutral, healthier plant‐based diets. The use of pea‐derived ingredients is expected to expand across a wide range of end uses, including meat alternatives and bioplastics. Consequently, research efforts are ongoing to better understand the genetic and biochemical basis of the nutritional and functional traits of pea seed to develop cultivars that meet existing and new market demands. This review synthesises current knowledge on phenotypic diversity, genetic control and breeding potential of key nutritional and sensory attributes of mature pea seeds, with additional scoping data for two traits, sugars and the iron‐storage protein ferritin. We discuss seed protein concentration and composition, starch content, resistant starch, raffinose family oligosaccharides, dietary fibre, mineral density, phytate, as well as colour and flavour components such as anthocyanins and saponins. This review highlights opportunities, challenges, and knowledge gaps in translating recent advances in pea genomics into the development of pea cultivars with enhanced nutritional value and consumer acceptability, contributing to global food and nutrition security.
Ahmed O. Warsame, Janneke Balk· Annals of Applied Biology· 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
Drought constitutes one of the most pervasive abiotic constraints limiting global crop productivity, with its frequency and intensity projected to increase substantially under ongoing climate change. This narrative review synthesises contemporary evidence on the genetic, physiological, and agronomic dimensions of drought resilience in major food crops, drawing on peer-reviewed literature published primarily between 2000 and 2026. Physiologically, drought impairs stomatal conductance, suppresses photosynthetic carbon assimilation, disturbs osmotic equilibrium, and restricts root-mediated water acquisition, with reproductive stages being disproportionately vulnerable. At the genetic level, the deployment of quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, transcription-factor engineering, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, and the overexpression of stress-responsive functional genes has opened novel avenues for enhancing tolerance without compromising yield potential. Breeding programmes have increasingly integrated marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection to accelerate genetic gain, whilst high-throughput phenotyping platforms now enable rapid assessment of drought-adaptive traits at a population scale. Agronomic strategies, including deficit irrigation, conservation tillage, intercropping, and application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), provide complementary levers for sustaining productivity under water-limited conditions. Emerging integrative approaches that combine multi-omics, digital precision agriculture, and policy-enabled climate-smart frameworks are highlighted as critical pathways for translating laboratory and field insights into scalable solutions. The review identifies persistent knowledge gaps—including the limited translation of genomic advances to smallholder contexts and the underexplored potential of microbiome engineering—and calls for a convergence of disciplinary expertise, equitable technology transfer, and coherent policy support to achieve drought-resilient food systems globally.
B. Santhosh, V. Sanjivkumar, H. B. Gowda et al.· Journal of Advances in Biolo...· 0 citations
Abstract Microbial inoculants are currently advancing sustainable agriculture by reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and enhancing soil and plant health in ways that traditional chemical inputs cannot. However, despite over a century of research and development, their in-field establishment and performance remain unreliable, limiting their widespread adoption and impact. Typically, the selection of candidate inoculants centers around performance-based traits (e.g. nitrogen fixation) assessed in vitro; yet, viable and impactful inoculants must express a wide range of traits that promote their fitness across heterogeneous landscapes. Successful inoculants must do well across the industrial production pipeline, which requires rapid growth in nutrient-rich liquid media. They must also tolerate long-term storage and subsequently perform consistently across diverse field conditions. These traits are essential for scalability, economic viability, and impact. To date, commercially available inoculants are mostly based on microbes exhibiting rapid growth under common laboratory conditions, traits which may or may not correlate with in-field delivery of beneficial functions. In this review, we propose a multi-faceted evaluation approach for inoculant performance, considering both biotic and abiotic aspects of inoculant success. We then use this framework to evaluate how adaptive laboratory evolution could enhance inoculant performance at key industrial pipeline steps. This approach is essential to widening the range of taxa that are considered for commercialization, while identifying and potentially mitigating the pitfalls of growing, storing, and applying microbes through traditional industrial production pipelines.
L. Hemara, Rebecca Doyle, G. diCenzo et al.· ISME Communications· 0 citations