The Molecular Breeding of Vegetables: Technological Innovations and Breeding Practices

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 October 2025 | Viewed by 105

Special Issue Editor

Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: vegetable crops; molecular breeding; plant genomics; pathogen resistance; agronomic trait enhancement

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the face of global challenges such as climate change, population growth, and diminishing arable land, the demand for high-yielding, nutrient-rich, and stress-resistant vegetable crops has never been greater. Conventional breeding methods, while effective, often have limitations in speed and precision. Molecular breeding, leveraging advances in genomics, bioinformatics, and biotechnology, offers transformative solutions to these challenges by enabling targeted trait improvement and accelerated crop development.

This Special Issue, titled “The Molecular Breeding of Vegetables: Technological Innovations and Breeding Practices”, aims to highlight recent advances in the application of molecular biology, genomics, and biotechnology in vegetable breeding, including but not limited to the following topics:

  • Genomic selection and marker-assisted breeding for enhancing yield, quality, and stress resilience;
  • Gene editing for targeted genetic improvement;
  • Multi-omics approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics) to unravel complex traits;
  • Disease and stress resistance mechanisms at the molecular level;
  • Biofortification and nutritional quality improvement;
  • High-throughput phenotyping and AI-assisted breeding strategies.

This Special Issue seeks to provide a platform for researchers to share cutting-edge discoveries that bridge the gap between genetic research and practical breeding applications. By compiling innovative studies in this field, we hope to foster discussions on how molecular tools can address challenges in vegetable production and the development of next-generation breeding technologies.

We welcome contributions from scientists and breeders working with diverse vegetable species. Join us in shaping the future of vegetable breeding, where science meets innovation in the cultivation of resilient, nutritious, and high-performing crops for a changing world.

Dr. Xing Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • vegetable breeding
  • marker-assisted selection
  • gene editing
  • genomic selection
  • trait improvement
  • omics technologies
  • disease and stress resistance

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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