Transformation of fruit trees. Useful breeding tool or continued future prospect?

Abstract

Regeneration and transformation systems using mature plant material of woody fruit species have to be achieved as a necessary requirement for the introduction of useful genes into specific cultivars and the rapid evaluation of resulting horticultural traits. Although the commercial production of transgenic annual crops is a reality, commercial genetically-engineered fruit trees are still far from common. In most woody fruit species, transformation and regeneration of commercial cultivars are not routine, generally being limited to a few genotypes or to seedlings. The future of genetic transformation as a tool for the breeding of fruit trees requires the development of genotype-independent procedures, based on the transformation of meristematic cells with high regeneration potential and/or the use of regeneration-promoting genes. The public concern with the introduction of antibiotic resistance into food and the restrictions due to new European laws that do not allow deliberate release of plants transformed with antibiotic-resistance genes highlight the development of methods that avoid the use of antibiotic-dependent selection or allow elimination of marker genesfrom the transformed plant as a research priority in coming years.

Breeding in peach, cherry and plum: from a tissue culture, genetic, transcriptomic and genomic perspective

“…In woody species such as the genus Prunus genetic transformation is a powerful tool, because traditional breeding has several limitations such as long juvenility, genotype autoincompatibility and heterozygosity (Petri and Burgos, 2005).…”

“…Selection of the appropriate Rhizobium radiobacter strain (syn. Agrobacteruim tumefaciens), infection conditions and selection markers also aff ect the effi ciency of the transformation process (Petri and Burgos, 2005).…”

Dwarfing of Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) Trees: Opportunities and Challenges

“…This process can create a substantial barrier to the application of transformation in some crops [132]. Compared to annual crops, woody trees such as fruit trees were considered recalcitrant to genetic transformation and regeneration for a long time, however through persistent efforts, they now begin to show enormous progress in many species including apple, oranges and grapefruit [138,139].…”

Evaluation of Factors Affecting European Plum (Prunus domestica L.) Genetic Transformation

“…Transfer of these genes into plants for gene function studies and for plant improvement is important in the post-genomics era. At this time, the lack of efficient, effective, and high throughput genetic transformation systems in many crops and varieties is a major barrier and a challenge in functional genomics research and for plant trait improvement via biotechnology (Petri and Burgos 2005). Studies and understanding of different aspects and factors in plant transformation are important and are a prerequisite in the development of effective and efficient transformation technologies for various crops and varieties (Gill et al 2004;Petri and Burgos 2005).…”

“…At this time, the lack of efficient, effective, and high throughput genetic transformation systems in many crops and varieties is a major barrier and a challenge in functional genomics research and for plant trait improvement via biotechnology (Petri and Burgos 2005). Studies and understanding of different aspects and factors in plant transformation are important and are a prerequisite in the development of effective and efficient transformation technologies for various crops and varieties (Gill et al 2004;Petri and Burgos 2005). European plum (Prunus domestica L.) is an economically important fruit crop and is widely grown across the world (Hartmann 1994;Okie and Ramming 1999;Kaufmane et al 2002).…”