Perspectives of Advanced Genetics and Genomics Approaches to Exploit Solanum Wild Crop Relatives for Breeding

Solanaceae crop breeders have abundant germplasm resources at their disposal in wild relatives and landraces. Over the past few decades, this germplasm has been used to transfer economically important traits into Solanaceae crops, mostly to overcome biotic stresses and improve quality. Extensive work has been done to understand interspecific crossability, identify large-scale differences in karyotypes, and establish phylogenetic relationships among and within wild and cultivated Solanaceae species. However, pre-breeding work to overcome linkage drag and sexual barriers is still largely based on phenotypic selection and traditional breeding schemes, which remain very time-consuming. This chapter provides an overview of the most recent breakthroughs approaches that can facilitate and expedite the effective use of wild Solanaceae species in breeding programs.