QTLomics-based genetic dissection of key traits in major cereals: Challenges and prospects

A significant portion of the worlD's food supply is derived from a small number of plant and animal sources. Specifically, 12 plants and five animals are responsible for around 75% of the food consumed by humans globally, with the top three crops—wheat, rice, and corn—contributing 60% of the total calories in our diet (https://www.fao.org/3/y5609e/y5609e02.htm" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://www.fao.org/3/y5609e/y5609e02.htm). In terms of area planted globally, wheat takes the top position, followed by maize in terms of production. Globally, rice, maize, and wheat are major cereal crops used as food, feed, and industrial raw material (Choudhary et al., 2019; 2020). Therefore, these cereals are considered the pillars of global food and nutritional food security, especially in low-income countries (Pal et al., 2022; Kaur et al., 2023). The growing interest in functional foods and the usage of diverse components and their by-products in a wide range of industrial goods are driving up demand for these cereal crops. For the sake of industrial growth and food security also, maize, wheat, and rice production must be increased (Sheoran et al., 2021). Due to their significance, there has been a lot of focus on improving these crops using both conventional and molecular breeding techniques.