Application of genetic modification and genome editing for developing climate‐smart banana

Leena Tripathi,Valentine Otang Ntui,Jaindra Nath Tripathi

doi:10.1002/fes3.168

Leena Tripathi, Valentine Otang Ntui + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.168

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Abstract

AbstractBanana is a major staple food crop feeding more than 500 million people in tropical and subtropical countries. Its production is largely constrained by diseases and pests in addition to other factors such as declining soil fertility, narrow genetic diversity in germplasm, and inadequate availability of clean planting material. The impact of climate change, particularly a rise in temperature and drought, is predicted to affect production adversely due to direct effect on plant agronomy and also influence on pathogens, pests, and their interactions with host plants. There is need to develop climate‐smart varieties of banana with multiple and durable resistance to combat abiotic stresses such as extreme temperature and drought, and biotic stresses such as pathogens and pests. Modern breeding tools, including genetic modification and genome editing, can be applied for the improvement of banana bypassing the natural bottlenecks of traditional breeding. Intensive efforts using genetic modification have been made to develop improved banana varieties with resistance to biotic stresses; however, these need to be coupled with tolerance to abiotic stresses. Genome editing, an emerging powerful tool, can be applied for developing sustainable solutions to adapt to climate change by resisting biotic and abiotic stresses. CRISPR/Cas9‐based genome editing has been lately established for banana, paving the way for functional genomics allowing identification of genes associated with stress‐tolerant traits, which could be used for the improvement of banana for adaptation to a changing climate. This article presents an overview of recent advancements and prospective on the application of genetic modification and genome editing for developing climate‐smart banana.

Highlights

Banana (Musa spp.) including plantain is one of the major staple food crops grown in over 140 countries in the subtropics and tropics with annual production worldwide of around 148 million metric, feeding about 500 million people (FAOSTAT, 2016)
It provides a further option for the development of improved varieties resistant to diseases, when no host plant resistance is available among banana germplasm
Modern breeding tools especially genetic modification and genome editing can be used in complementation with conventional breeding for developing climate-s mart varieties of banana

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

Banana (Musa spp.) including plantain is one of the major staple food crops grown in over 140 countries in the subtropics and tropics with annual production worldwide of around 148 million metric, feeding about 500 million people (FAOSTAT, 2016). Genetic engineering is a very effective tool, which allows the transfer of useful traits from different species or across the same species, bypassing natural bottlenecks of breeding, making it applicable for the improvement of banana It provides a further option for the development of improved varieties resistant to diseases, when no host plant resistance is available among banana germplasm. Many laboratories have tried to develop embryogenic cells from various cultivars of banana using different types of explants such as leaf sheaths, rhizome, shoot tips, zygotic embryos, male flowers, and multiple buds (Becker et al, 2000; Cote et al, 1996; Dheda, Dumortier, Panis, Vuylsteke, & De Langhe, FIGURE 2 Schematic diagram showing generation of DNA-free genome-e dited banana by delivering preassembled Cas protein-gRNA ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) directly into embryogenic cells or protoplasts and regeneration into complete plants.

Result

| CONCLUSIONS AND

Findings

CONFLICT OF INTEREST