Toward repositioning Allium vegetable crops as global commodities: Opportunities and challenges for future application of omics and phytomedomics platforms to crop improvement

Allium cepa (bulb onion, shallot) is a widely cultivated species that contains chemical compounds with culinary and therapeutic uses. A complete set of A. fistulosum-A. cepa monosomic addition lines has been used to obtain chromosomal-based genomic information of A. cepa. To go against a headwind without whole genome sequencing data, an F2 mapping population was produced from a single F1 plant between shallot and bulb onion doubled haploid (DH) lines, which could be used for constructing an A. cepa ultra-high density genetic linkage map via the use of numerous SNP markers generated by transcriptome-based genotyping. Furthermore, an advanced metabolomics technique was utilized as a tool for characterizing phytochemical variations in the genetic materials mentioned above. This will help to develop the capability and plant materials to support metabolomics-informed biomedical studies of whole plants or extracts, as well as enable the detection of associations between phytochemical content, gene expression, and specific genome regions, along with a next generation functionality assessment method. While strengthening the position of Allium vegetables as global commodities, this academic approach will contribute greatly to solving the problem of nutrient deficiency throughout the world.