## 2 Advances and Achievements in Seed Biotechnologies in the Decade 2014-2024
### Seed Microbiome Research Employing Multi-Omics and Bioinformatics  
In the present era, innovative biotechnological approaches have been co-integrated and substantially improved the agricultural output, making people self-reliant in multiple countries. The microbiome comprises an important aspect of seed science research. Diverse microbial communities are present in seeds, that confer important beneficial traits to the plant in terms of biotic and abiotic stress conditions, growth, and plant health [177]. Omics-driven studies have suggested that plant seeds are home to beneficial microbes and microbes show vertical transmission across plant generations [178; 179]. In addition, plant microbiota shows horizontal transmission from the environment [180]. Internally, microbes are present in the seed coat, found in cotyledon, and on the root hypocotyl embryo after germination. A deeper knowledge of microbial transmission from seeds to other plant parts opens new avenues to exploit these beneficial interactions in agricultural practices and microbiome studies define the next step. While the crop breeding approaches would benefit from microbiome analysis, microbiome engineering is feasible for crops with short breeding histories [177]. Global initiatives, the Millennium Seed Bank (UK), Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norway), etc., have been instrumental in the conservation of indigenous seed microbes, and exploiting microbial diversity for sustainable livelihood. High-throughput biotechnologies have contributed immensely to seed science research, with high-throughput assays improving seed germination and the seed morphometric data collection of multiple germplasm accessions. Moreover, a large collection of data has been generated from next-generation sequencing and can be stored. Bioinformatics databases and statistical approaches have facilitated the storage, sharing, and retrieval of large data sets, thus aiding in the best candidate selection for crop breeding programs. In addition, key insights into gene regulatory networks in seed developments have been delineated via the seed transcriptomics of dicot species. Studies into gene coexpression network analysis generated information in soybean genotypes and identified multiple regulators of seed size, e.g., brassinosterol signaling kinases coordinate tissue-specific gene networks [181]. [PERSON] et al. [182] employed multi-omics and integrated bioinformatics to understand the molecular mechanisms for starch content differences in _Cicer arietinum_ L. and _G. max_ seeds. The analysis of protein-protein interactions, patterns of gene expression, and miRNA-gene regulatory interactions decoded the molecular mechanisms underlying starch content differences in the seeds of the two plants. [PERSON] and coworkers [183] employed proteomics strategies for the comparative analysis (protein expression) of high-protein and high-oil soybean cultivars, providing key insights into oil synthesis differences. The overexpression of _Gmdgat1-2_ changed total fatty acid content via the downregulation of lipoxygenase enzyme and oleosin upregulation [184]. In addition, the effect of multiple stressors on soybean seed traits has been studied via quantitative proteomics for targeted plant breeding. [PERSON] and coworkers [185] analyzed transgenic soybean seeds (silenced _Gmfd3_, _fatty acid desaturase_ gene) through quantitative proteomics. The results revealed hampered protein function in fatty acid metabolic pathways. A study by [PERSON] et al. [186] investigated the soybean cotyledon, pod, and embryo vigor under humidity and temperature stress via the integration of physiological data and quantitative proteomics. Metabolomics studies in soybeans have examined the impact of seed coat color, seed maturity, and seed dry weight on the levels of metabolite at different stages. Furthermore, how the plant responds to abiotic stress and the role of osmoprotectant metabolites is understood via metabolomics studies [187]. [PERSON] et al.