Unveiling Biotechnology Approaches to India's Orphan Legume Pulses Through Novel Gene Targeting for Agro-Economic Empowerment as Promotion for 21st-Century Super Foods

Orphan legumes (underutilised pulses) are inherently climate-resilient, stress-tolerant, and nutrient-dense crops vital for future food security. Despite India hosting a vast gene pool (>1,150 species across 79 genera—including grass pea, moth bean, and horse gram), these species remain excluded from mainstream agricultural research and global commodity markets. Current literature addresses orphan legume diversity, major legume genetic modification, and global improvement strategies only as isolated domains. This review consolidates India’s orphan legume genetic resources with the constraints hindering their adoption and the applicability of modern biotechnological tools. We synthesize the state of marker and genomic resources, alongside the available genetic modification toolbox—ranging from CRISPR/Cas9, base editing, and prime editing to CRISPR/Cas13, CRISPR-associated transposons, and nanoparticle delivery systems. Key adoption barriers are highlighted, including scarce genome sequencing data, anti-nutritional factors impacting palatability and digestibility, weak seed supply chains, and regulatory challenges. We conclude that positioning orphan legumes as mainstream 21st-century food sources requires integrated investments across genomic characterization, field-validated gene editing, seed systems, and policy frameworks. Precision gene editing offers a critical, though not standalone, mechanism for integrating these climate-resilient crops into sustainable agricultural systems.