The evolution of plant genetic improvement: From Mendel to molecular markers

The trajectory of plant breeding has transitioned remarkably from Mendel’s inheritance principles to today’s molecular marker-driven precision breeding. Early efforts were limited to observable phenotypic traits and simple crosses, but the advent of cytogenetics, molecular markers, high-throughput sequencing, and genome editing has revolutionized crop improvement. This review examines the historical milestones and recent advances in plant genetic improvement, emphasizing the integration of marker-assisted selection (MAS), genomic selection (GS), and CRISPR-based editing. The paper concludes with prospects on integrating phenomics, enviromics, and data-driven breeding pipelines to accelerate development of climate-resilient crops.