Genomic resources in horticultural crops: status, utility and challenges

Area of Science:

• Plant genomics
• Horticultural science
• Molecular biology

Background:

• Genomic resources are crucial for advancing horticultural crop improvement.
• Understanding the status and availability of these resources is key for efficient research exploitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current genomic resources in major horticultural crops.
• To assess the utility of genomic and genic sequence information for gene discovery and marker design.
• To identify challenges in generating and utilizing these resources.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of genomic resources in horticultural crops.
• Analysis of the application of genomic and genic sequence data in research.
• Evaluation of the impact of high-throughput sequencing and automation.

Main Results:

• Significant genomic and sequence information has been generated for numerous horticultural crops.
• These resources are used for basic and applied research, including genome structure analysis, comparative genomics, and gene/marker discovery.
• Progress in utilizing these resources for crop improvement is slower than anticipated.

Conclusions:

• Genomic resources offer substantial potential for developing improved horticultural varieties.
• Automation and high-throughput techniques are accelerating genomic research.
• Limitations and challenges persist, hindering the full generation and utilization of genomic resources in many crops.