Asparagus

Abstract

Asparagus ( Asparagus officinalis ) is an economically important vegetable crop in over 17 countries. The important breeding targets for asparagus include herbicide tolerance, insect and disease resistance, and increase of nutritional compounds such as flavonoid rutin that may reduce serum cholesterol and anticarcinogens such as protodioscin that inhibits cancer cell growth and decreases cholesterol in plasma and liver to improve its human health benefit. In this article, we review the current status of botanical, economical and genomic aspects, breeding program, and genetic transformation in asparagus, which provides useful information of a genomic model for Asparagales functional genomics and its application to the economic trait development.