Prospects of Next Generation Sequencing in Plant Breeding

Next-generation sequencing techniques have revolutionized over the last decade providing researchers with low cost, high-throughput alternatives compared to the traditional Sanger sequencing methods. These sequencing techniques have rapidly evolved from first-generation to fourth generation with very broad applications such as unravelling the complexity of the genome, in terms of genetic variations, and having a high impact on the biological field. In this review, we discuss the transition of sequencing fromthe second-generation to the thirdand fourth generations, and describe some of their novel biological applications. Using the new techniques and developed advanced bioinformatics tools, several studies including both plant genomics and transcriptomics were carried out. Likewise, completion of reference genome sequences and highthroughput resequencing projects presented opportunities to better understand the genomic nature of plants and accelerated the process of crop improvement.