Integration of OMICS Technologies for Crop Improvement

Abstract

Sustainable crop improvement can help to feed the exploding human population in an era of shrinking cultivable lands and dwindling water resources. In this scenario, crop improvement using OMICS technologies may help to ensure food security and alleviate the rural poverty in poor countries. Additionally, the improved crops may help to cope with the problem of malnutrition in the different parts of the world, especially Africa. OMICS technologies are based on the knowledge gained through genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, interactomics and phenomics. This expert review article congregates recent knowledge of the emerging OMICS technologies and evaluates how their integrated application is improving important crops and the potential of these technologies in bringing a revolution in agriculture. Moreover, we have provided an analysis of various technical challenges and difficulties arising during application of OMICS technologies to crop plants which pose major restrictions to the implementation of these strategies.

Keywords: Genomics; crop improvement.; interactomics; metabolomics; phenomics; proteomics; transcriptomics.