Editorial: Trends and perspectives for the use of crop wild relatives in crop breeding.

This editorial discusses the importance of crop wild relatives (CWRs) in crop breeding and their potential for enhancing agrobiodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and food security. CWRs possess valuable genetic resources that can contribute to adaptability, resilience, resource utilization, and nutritional profiles in crops. However, many CWRs are currently threatened due to agricultural practices, urbanization, pollution, and climate change. The editorial emphasizes the need for conservation efforts and integration of CWRs into breeding programs. The research topic includes articles on various aspects of CWR utilization, such as natural selection, introgression, genomics, mapping traits, and defense responses. These studies highlight the potential of CWRs in improving crop traits, enhancing genetic diversity, and addressing challenges in agriculture. [Extracted from the article]