Integrating Omics and Gene Editing Tools for Rapid Improvement of Traditional Food Plants for Diversified and Sustainable Food Security

Abstract

Indigenous communities across the globe, especially in rural areas, consume locally available plants known as Traditional Food Plants (TFPs) for their nutritional and health-related needs. Recent research shows that many TFPs are highly nutritious as they contain health beneficial metabolites, vitamins, mineral elements and other nutrients. Excessive reliance on the mainstream staple crops has its own disadvantages. Traditional food plants are nowadays considered important crops of the future and can act as supplementary foods for the burgeoning global population. They can also act as emergency foods in situations such as COVID-19 and in times of other pandemics. The current situation necessitates locally available alternative nutritious TFPs for sustainable food production. To increase the cultivation or improve the traits in TFPs, it is essential to understand the molecular basis of the genes that regulate some important traits such as nutritional components and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. The integrated use of modern omics and gene editing technologies provide great opportunities to better understand the genetic and molecular basis of superior nutrient content, climate-resilient traits and adaptation to local agroclimatic zones. Recently, realizing the importance and benefits of TFPs, scientists have shown interest in the prospection and sequencing of TFPs for their improvements, cultivation and mainstreaming. Integrated omics such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and ionomics are successfully used in plants and have provided a comprehensive understanding of gene-protein-metabolite networks. Combined use of omics and editing tools has led to successful editing of beneficial traits in several TFPs. This suggests that there is ample scope for improvement of TFPs for sustainable food production. In this article, we highlight the importance, scope and progress towards improvement of TFPs for valuable traits by integrated use of omics and gene editing techniques.

Consumer acceptance of new food trends resulting from the fourth industrial revolution technologies: A narrative review of literature and future perspectives

“…Gene editing is one of the emerging technologies that have opened up many possibilities for generating crops and animals with improved properties and desired traits ( 19 – 21 ). Additionally, highly productive food production systems (e.g., hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics) have received attention as alternative farming systems, taking advantages of innovations and advancements in science and technology ( 22 – 24 ). Increased concerns about environmental sustainability are driving the growing interest in better uses of food wastes, by-products, and ugly produce.…”

Physiological and Molecular Responses of Woody Plants Exposed to Future Atmospheric CO2 Levels under Abiotic Stresses

“…The integration of modern omics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and ionomics) along with gene editing offered a better understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of staple crops, allowing the production/selection of more resilient and productive cultivars [ 140 ]. However, these molecular approaches have been poorly applied to woody plants, especially involving the interaction with multiple abiotic stresses, making it unclear how the increase of atmospheric CO 2 will affect tree species and forest ecosystems.…”

Omics-Facilitated Crop Improvement for Climate Resilience and Superior Nutritive Value

“…et al, 2020 ; Gogolev et al, 2021 ; Kumar R. et al, 2021 ). Such modern plant breeding technologies include double-haploid (DH) breeding ( Yan et al, 2017 ), induced mutagenesis ( Kharkwal and Shu, 2009 ), CRISPR-Cas based gene editing technologies (see Ahmar et al, 2020 ; Steinwand and Ronald, 2020 ; Fiaz et al, 2021 ; Gao, 2021 ; Kumar A. et al, 2021 ; Marsh et al, 2021 ; Sinha et al, 2021 ), and the single seed chipping (SSC) facilitated marker-based early generation selection (MEGS) technique ( Parmar et al, 2021 ), among others. For instance, the SSC facilitated MEGS protocol could be used to successfully advance 3.5 breeding generations in groundnuts, and could significantly cut the time required to complete the entire breeding cycle by approximately 6-8 months.…”

“…In particular, manipulating genes and metabolic pathways involved in uptake and transport of Fe, Zn and phosphorus in legumes holds the key for the success of crop nutritional quality improvement. Pathways that can be targeted include beta-carotene biosynthesis, folate biosynthesis, vitamin E biosynthesis and lysine biosynthesis ( Kumar A. et al, 2021 ; Roorkiwal et al, 2021 ). For instance, metabolomics approaches have been used to target carotenoid biosynthesis pathways (since carotenoids and β-carotene are the primary precursors of vitamin A) and to perform metabolic engineering aimed at increasing β-carotene levels in crops such as rice, maize and potato (reviewed in Sharma V. et al, 2021 ).…”