Origin, evolution, breeding and omics of Apiaceae: a family of vegetables and medicinal plants

TLDR: In this article , the authors summarized the complex origins of Apiaceae and the current state of research on the family, including traditional and molecular breeding practices, bioactive compounds, medicinal applications, nanotechnology and omics research.

Abstract: Many of the world’s most important vegetables and medicinal crops, including carrot, celery, coriander, fennel, and cumin, belong to the Apiaceae family. In this review, we summarize the complex origins of Apiaceae and the current state of research on the family, including traditional and molecular breeding practices, bioactive compounds, medicinal applications, nanotechnology and omics research. Numerous molecular markers, regulatory factors and functional genes have been discovered, studied and applied to improve vegetables and medicinal crops in Apiaceae. In addition, current trends in Apiaceae application and research are also briefly described, including mining new functional genes and metabolites using omics research, identifing new genetic variant associated with the important agronomic traits by population genetics analysis and GWAS, applying the genetic transformation, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system and nanotechnology in Apiaceae plants. This review provides a reference for basic and applied research on Apiaceae vegetable and medicinal plants.