Proteomics and Metabolomics as Large-Scale Phenotyping Tools

For centuries, plant breeders had a few choices of tools to evaluate the phenotypes and to choose and select the best gene combinations from the best genotypes. Basically, a balance and a rule were the main instruments used. In many cases these conventional phenotyping tools required destructive harvests at fixed times or at particular phenological stages which were slow and costly. Today researchers can combine novel technologies such as non-invasive imaging analysis, spectroscopy, robotics, high-performance computing and “omics” high throughput analyses, integrating all of this data more efficiently and in view of plant physiology and plant breeding. In this chapter we describe briefly the high-throughput analysis using proteomics and metabolomics and integrating these data with phenomics, the challenge of statistical analysis and bioinformatics, to deal with the large amount of data generated. We also provide an overview of proteomic associated with plant breeding programs; biotic and abiotic stress conditions; quality, nutritional value, and safety of food products; and physiology and biomass production. The use of metabolomics in large-scale phenotyping is also provided in this chapter.