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Recent technological advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have dramatically reduced the cost of DNA sequencing, allowing species with large and complex genomes to be sequenced. Although bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the world’s most important food crops, efficient exploitation of molecular marker-assisted breeding approaches has lagged behind that achieved in other crop species, due to its large polyploid genome. However, an international public–private effort spanning 9 years reported over 65% draft genome of bread wheat in 2014, and finally, after more than a decade culminated in the release of a gold-standard, fully annotated reference wheat-genome assembly in 2018. Shortly thereafter, in 2020, the genome of assemblies of additional 15 global wheat accessions was released. As a result, wheat has now entered into the pan-genomic era, where basic resources can be efficiently exploited. Wheat genotyping with a few hundred markers has been replaced by genotyping arrays, capable of characterizing hundreds of wheat lines, using thousands of markers, providing fast, relatively inexpensive, and reliable data for exploitation in wheat breeding. These advances have opened up new opportunities for marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection (GS) in wheat. Herein, we review the advances and perspectives in wheat genetics and genomics, with a focus on key traits, including grain yield, yield-related traits, end-use quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. We also focus on reported candidate genes cloned and linked to traits of interest. Furthermore, we report on the improvement in the aforementioned quantitative traits, through the use of (i) clustered regularly interspaced short-palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9)-mediated gene-editing and (ii) positional cloning methods, and of genomic selection. Finally, we examine the utilization of genomics for the next-generation wheat breeding, provi

The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP; 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 μL L-1), methyl jasmonate (MeJa; 0.001, 0.002 and 0.003 μmol L-1) and salicylic acid (SA; 0.001, 0.002 and 0.003 μmol L-1) on cold storage life and fruit quality of ‘Kinnow’ mandarin for up to 75 d. Weight loss, spoilage loss, firmness, juice percentage, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, pectin content, total carotenoids and ascorbic acid content, organoleptic sensory attributes, pectin methylesterase and cellulase activity were determined. MeJa (0.001 μmol L-1), 1-MCP (1.5 μL L-1) and SA (0.002 μmol L-1) were the most effective in decreasing the weight loss, spoilage, firmness, juice content, and were retarding the activities of pectin methylesterase and cellulase compared to control. Treated fruit also had higher contents of ascorbic acid, pectin, total carotenoids and sensory attributes for 75 d of cold storage. In conclusion postharvest treatment of ‘Kinnow’ mandarin with MeJa (0.001 μmol L-1), 1-MCP (1.5 μL L-1) fumigation and SA (0.002 μmol L-1) extended cold storage life and maintained quality.

Edible coatings are safer for human health and environment compared to synthetic waxes. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of different edible coatings on extending cold storage life and maintaining fruit quality of ‘Kinnow’ mandarin (Citrus nobilis L. x Citrus deliciosa L.). Kinnow fruit coating treatments included 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 g L−1 carboxy methylcellulose (CMC), 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g L−1 chitosan and 5, 10 and 15 g L−1 beeswax were contrasted to the uncoated (control) fruit. The coated and uncoated fruit were kept under cold storage conditions (5–7 °C and 90–95% RH) up to 75 days. The fruit were sampled following 30, 45, 60 and 75 days cold storage and evaluated for different quality parameters and scanning electron microscopy of the peel surface. The results indicate variability among the different polymer coatings for weight loss, spoilage loss, juice content, firmness, pectin content, the activity of pectin methylesterase and cellulase, soluble solids concentration (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid content, total carotenoids content and organoleptic sensory attributes. Improved fruit gloss was observed in all coatings treatments, however, with the extension of the cold storage period, the fruit coated with chitosan and beeswax showed outward ruptures on the rind. Amongst all, the coatings tested, CMC (2.0 g L-1) coating was the most effective in maintaining various fruit quality parameters such as SSC, TA, vitamin C, sensory attributes and retarding the activities of cell wall degrading enzymes such as pectin methylesterase and cellulase up to 60 days in cold storage.