Harvesting the Antioxidant Potential of Berry Crops Through Genomic Advances and Modern Breeding Tools

The evolving needs of society, shaped by lifestyle changes and growing health awareness, have intensified interest in sustainable foods with enhanced nutritional benefits. Berry crops are central to this trend, serving as rich dietary sources of bioactive compounds that support human health. Renowned for their high levels of diverse antioxidants, they offer benefits that extend well beyond basic nutrition. This review explores the diversity and global cultivation of major berry crops, including blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, blackberries, and grapes, with emphasis on their nutritional value and antioxidant profiles. It also examines their domestication history, wild relatives, and commercial cultivars, while offering insight into the genetic and phenotypic diversity underpinning their rich chemical composition. Furthermore, the review highlights the use of modern genomic and breeding tools to enhance bioactive compound content. Advances in cultivation and molecular breeding technologies, including transcriptomics, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and genome editing, offer promising opportunities to maximize the antioxidant potential of these high-value crops, particularly in the face of a changing climate.