ROLE OF MOLECULAR BASED MARKERS METHODS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN CROP IMPROVEMENT

To adapt to the more appeal of food approaching 40% by 2020, immediate attention on crop improvement is demanded with a continuous effort, since from the evolution of man that dates back some 10,000 years ago. Plant breeding strategies are demarcated as before and after green revolution (between 1960s to 1980s). Thereafter since 1980s, advancement of molecular marker technologies and their application in crop breeding has started a new era of genomic revolutions. Novel and contemporary advances in DNA sequencing technology have brought quite many novel podiums for marker development. They have been exploited worldwide in different systems with global acceptance. Recent advances in molecular markers have become essential tools For countless applications extending phylogenetic analysis, diversity studies, construction of genetic and comparative maps, detection of novel allele, region-specific marker saturation, gene tagging, marker-assisted selection, varietal/line identification, hybrid identification, seed testing, fingerprinting, the introduction of the alien gene, etc. facilitating the identification of novel genetic lines that can be utilized as parental lines for crop improvement programs for high return, resilience to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses with improved nutriment. Thus, molecular markers are considered valuable tools for genome analysis even in crops where the whole genomes are sequenced. This review brings out the crosstalk among the recent advances in molecular markers, strategies for crop diversity studies, and their solicitations in crop breeding programs.