Chapter 4 - Transgenic Research in Fruit Crops

Abstract

Fruits constitute an important part of the human diet. To meet the nutritional demand of the ever-increasing world population, a proportional increase in fruit production requires development of better varieties with higher yields under biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Many of the constraints faced by conventional methods of fruit breeding are circumvented by use of the transgenic approach, which involves transfer of a target gene without altering the genetic makeup of a plant. Tremendous progress has been made in different aspects of transgenic technology in the last few decades, resulting in the development of commercial transgenic varieties in a few fruit crops. Factors affecting the transformation efficiency of a crop have been analyzed in detail. Major emphasis has been placed on developing varieties resistant to diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses. So far, the majority of target genes have been taken from a heterologous source. Considering consumer acceptance and regulatory concerns, emphasis needs to be concentrated on the development of the marker-free cisgenic approach. Breakthroughs in genome editing and high-throughput sequencing techniques hold the key for further progress in transgenic research in fruit crops.