The Use of Genome Sequencing to Improve Crops for Tropical Agriculture

Agriculture in the tropical world faces many challenges because of growing populations and environmental degradation. Climate change is exacerbating these problems but also extending them to a wider range of environments globally. Tropical crops may be increasingly suitable for regions much further from the equator. Many tropical crops have not had the long history of research investment that has supported the major crops from temperate regions. As genome sequencing technology has advanced rapidly in recent years it has been applied to many tropical species that have not been well researched in the past. Advances in genome sequencing can be viewed as providing an opportunity for our understanding of the biology and breeding of tropical crop plants to catch up with that for better-studied species. Genomics provides a platform that can be used to support germplasm analysis and conservation, climate adaptation, improvement of crop performance, and food nutritional and functional quality.