Leveraging plant genomics for better and healthier food

- Genomics-assisted breeding has produced nutritionally enhanced cultivars.
- Sequencing crops' genomes paves the way to clone genes for food quality.
- Gene cloning is required for gene editing, a major game-changer for food security.

Producing better and healthier food is an unprecedented challenge that the food-supply chain will face, particularly in view of the negative impact of climate change on food security and safety. Among the different options available to meet these challenges, the recent advances in genome sequencing provide unparalleled opportunities to identify beneficial alleles at the genes controlling food properties and leverage this information for tailoring the genetic make-up of the crops that feed mankind. Breeding programmes aiming at selecting more nutritious and safer crops increasingly benefit from the application of marker-assisted selection and genomic selection. Cloning the genes underscoring food quality paves the way for the targeted use of gene editing to fully harness the opportunities offered by native and artificially induced genetic variability.