To produce virus-free plants, a simple and original protocol was established by combining several techniques: repeated shoot meristem excision before and during in vitro culture and thermotherapy applied to bulblets in vitro. Lily symptomless virus (LSV) is a major virus that decreases plant growth vigor and the quality of cut flowers, yet infected plants show no distinct symptoms. Stock bulbs of pollenless Asiatic hybrid lily (L. × elegans Thunb) lines (‘409’ and ‘599’) were used as explant. Shoot meristems were excised and micropropagated. Thermotherapy (42 days at 35 °C) was applied to in vitro growing bulblets and a second meristem cut was then made from heat-treated material. Leaf tissues from bulblets formed before or postheat treatments were analyzed either by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. Line ‘499’ produced LSV-free plants without heat treatment, but line ‘599’ produced LSV-free plants only after heat treatment. The virus-free lily bulblets grew vigorously in vitro and acclimatized promptly. It is suggested that thermotherapy given to in vitro growing bulblets effectively eliminated the virus and induced a fast and efficient micropropagation technique for virus-free mother plant stock.

Key message We review the main genes underlying commercial traits in cut flower species and critically discuss the possibility to apply genome editing approaches to produce novel variation and phenotypes. Abstract Promoting flowering and flower longevity as well as creating novelty in flower structure, colour range and fragrances are major objectives of ornamental plant breeding. The novel genome editing techniques add new possibilities to study gene function and breed new varieties. The implementation of such techniques, however, relies on detailed information about structure and function of genomes and genes. Moreover, improved protocols for efficient delivery of editing reagents are required. Recent results of the application of genome editing techniques to elite ornamental crops are discussed in this review. Enabling technologies and genomic resources are reviewed in relation to the implementation of such approaches. Availability of the main gene sequences, underlying commercial traits and in vitro transformation protocols are provided for the world's best-selling cut flowers, namely rose, lily, chrysanthemum, lisianthus, tulip, gerbera, freesia, alstroemeria, carnation and hydrangea. Results obtained so far are described and their implications for the improvement of flowering, flower architecture, colour, scent and shelf-life are discussed. Keywords Ornamental crops • Genome editing • Plant regeneration • Plant transformation • Floriculture Abbreviations DSB Double-strand breaks NHEJ Nonhomologous end joining HDR Homology-directed repair CRISPR/Cas9 Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated 9 endonuclease RNP Cas9-sgRNA ribonucleoprotein Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

Ornamental plant production constitutes an important sector of the horticultural industry worldwide and fungal infections, that dramatically affect the aesthetic quality of plants, can cause serious economic and crop losses. The need to reduce the use of pesticides for controlling fungal outbreaks requires the development of new sustainable strategies for pathogen control. In particular, early and accurate large-scale detection of occurring symptoms is critical to face the ambitious challenge of an effective, energy-saving, and precise disease management. Here, the new trends in digital-based detection and available tools to treat fungal infections are presented in comparison with conventional practices. Recent advances in molecular biology tools, spectroscopic and imaging technologies and fungal risk models based on microclimate trends are examined. The revised spectroscopic and imaging technologies were tested through a case study on rose plants showing important fungal diseases (i.e., spot spectroscopy, hyperspectral, multispectral, and thermal imaging, fluorescence sensors). The final aim was the examination of conventional practices and current e-tools to gain the early detection of plant diseases, the identification of timing and spacing for their proper management, reduction in crop losses through environmentally friendly and sustainable production systems. Moreover, future perspectives for enhancing the integration of all these approaches are discussed.

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