Genetic Improvement of Minor Crop Legumes: Prospects of De Novo Domestication

Abstract

Minor crop species and their wild relatives are resilient to multiple environmental stressors and are a great potential resource for promoting global food and nutritional security. However, since many of these species are deficient in a few or several desirable domestication traits which reduce their agronomic value, further work on their trait improvement is required in order to fully exploit their food benefits. Thus, to some extent, a minor crop may be regarded as semi-domesticated species based on the extent to which it is deficient in a number of agronomically significant domestication traits. Quite recently, research has revealed prospects of creating new crops out of wild plant species via de novo domestication. Minor crops deficient in desirable domestication traits as well as their wild relatives can possibly be subjected to such a systematic process of redomestication and de novo domestication in order to increase their food, nutritional, or raw material utilization value. This review discusses the feasibility of employing CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing techniques for the genetic enhancement of minor legumes and de novo domestication of their wild relatives.