Next generation breeding

tThe genomic revolution of the past decade has greatly improved our understanding of the geneticmake-up of living organisms. The sequencing of crop genomes has completely changed our vision andinterpretation of genome organization and evolution. Re-sequencing allows the identification of anunlimited number of markers as well as the analysis of germplasm allelic diversity based on allele min-ing approaches. High throughput marker technologies coupled with advanced phenotyping platformsprovide new opportunities for discovering marker-trait associations which can sustain genomic-assistedbreeding. The availability of genome sequencing information is enabling genome editing (site-specificmutagenesis), to obtain gene sequences desired by breeders. This review illustrates how next genera-tion sequencing-derived information can be used to tailor genomic tools for different breeders’ needs torevolutionize crop improvement.