Epibreeding: Translating the Epigenetic Landscape to Promote Crop Performance Under Multifactorial Climate Perturbation

Epigenetic changes have been widely documented over recent decades, yet their role in trait stability remains poorly understood. Epibreeding (epigenetically mediated breeding) represents an emerging approach with the potential to enhance crop performance across generations. Integrating epigenetics with conventional breeding broadens the understanding of population genetics by adding an advanced layer of heritable information. However, the transgenerational inheritance of epialleles in crop improvement requires a deeper understanding of complex traits in the plant species with complex breeding systems. Major challenges in breeding include capturing optimal allele combinations that determine complex traits influenced by both inherited and genotype‐independent mutations. This review proposes a conceptual framework for harnessing transgenerational epialleles for breeding of high‐yielding climate resilient plant varieties to strengthen food security. Epigenetic mechanisms may provide an additional source of data to achieve higher genetic gain in cultivated crops. Developing epidata (epigenetic data) and integrating it into breeding programmes can promote the exploitation of epialleles (epigenetic allele) for trait enhancement. Studies in non‐model crops highlight difficulties such as genetic complexity, inbreeding depression and allelic imbalance, yet next‐generation sequencing technologies now help to overcome these barriers. Comprehensive epigenomic mapping and identification of Epi‐QTLs (Epigenetic‐Quantitative trait loci) or epialleles can advance understanding of how gene activation and epigenetic changes shape phenotype, paving the way for improved crop resilience and productivity.