Guaranteeing food security in an era of rising world population,
global climate change, and pressure to use land situated in harsh
environments for agriculture, is an increasing challenge. In the drive
for improved crop performance, efforts have focused on identifying
genes controlling many traits including greater tolerance to biotic
and abiotic stresses. However, several problems in identifying new
candidate genes can be distinguished. Classic forward and reverse
genetic screens of plant mutants require the screening of up to hundreds
of thousands of plants, yet the return is very low – typically