Abstract
Oilseed crops, such as soybean, groundnut, mustard, sunflower, and sesame, are important in global agriculture due to human consumption and industrial applications. Considering their importance in global agriculture, there has been significant attention given to improving both seed oil content and quality. Oil synthesis and accumulation are regulated by complex biochemical pathways and are typically classified as quantitative traits. Over the past few decades, the elucidation of regulatory pathways governing fatty acid synthesis, identification of target genes and advancements in metabolic engineering have made significant progress. Additionally, advancements in sequencing technologies and revolutionized bioinformatics have helped in a significant transformation in the field of genomic analysis. This transformation involves a shift from analyzing individual cultivars to encompassing studies of entire species at the genomic level. This paradigm shift is aimed at comprehensively capturing the full spectrum of diversity. This chapter explores the complexities of traits linked to oil content and recent advancements in mapping these traits to gain a deeper understanding of their complexity. Additionally, the concepts of the pan-genome and super pan-genome, along with the methods employed for their construction are discussed. We also discuss the current challenges faced in major oilseed crops and consider the future prospects for this ever-evolving field.
