Multi omics approaches to improve none-domesticated Jatropha curcas:Challenges to counteract land degradation

With increasing human activities, the most significant challenges are facing energy demand, fuels and CO۲ emission from fossil fuel, which resulted in the release of the high amount of greenhouse gases. To solve this problem, it is necessary to design and use more efficient machines, processes and alternative fuels. In the last years, biofuel crops received more attention in transferring crude fossil oil to more sustainable resources. Among different oil-rich seeds plant, J. curcas is considered a promising source of non-edible oil, which can be used for biodiesel production. It is an extremely drought-tolerant plant that can grow in places where other plants fail to be cultivated. Jatropha thrives on almost any soil and can prevent soil erosion and therefore can be considered an effective option for rehabilitating wasteland. It has also been found as a suitable plant for cultivation, not interfering with food crop agricultural production. Its seeds contain ۲۰% to ۵۰% oil and ۲۲to۳۵% proteins, even higher than soybean. Thus, the wish to take this plant into culture has been steadily increasing. However, Jatropha has not really been domesticated. Its seeds contain a range of toxins and anti-nutritional compounds, which render the seedcake and oil unsuitable for animal feed and human consumption. Besides, the lack of knowledge of the quantitative genetic variations and gene expression patterns makes it difficult to predict its seeds' oil and toxin levels. Therefore, optimizing Jatropha yield and seed quality to identify key enzymes invoking in the seed maturation process is important. Moreover, in-depth knowledge of the J. curcas' genomic approaches needs to be complemented by qualitative and quantitative analyses at several omic levels to obtain functional genomics information, which will accelerate breeding efforts in this biofuel crop.