Strawberry biotechnology: A review on progress over past 10 years

Abstract

Strawberry (Fragaria spp.) is a popular fruit crop of delight all over the world. Biotechnological interventions in strawberry have been proven pivotal in terms of upscaled micropropagation, germplasm conservation, genetic improvement, secondary metabolite production, and value addition. Different research appraisals highlight in vitro adventitious shoot proliferation, axillary bud regeneration, callus culture-mediated indirect organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, cell suspension culture, its bioreactor-based upscaling, protoplast culture, synthetic seed formation, cryopreservation, mutagenesis, genetic transformation, nanotechnology, omics studies, and CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing in strawberry. Enriched inventory of plant growth regulators during in vitro regeneration shapes up the final outcome of the research experiments. Apart from chemical factors, innovations in the physical parameters of culture growth have also added to enhanced tissue culture-based plantlets production in strawberry. The assessment of the clonal fidelity of the in vitro regenerants is imperative to test the trueness of the genetic constitution of the clones, and hence, the utility of different molecular marker systems has proven to be unequivocal. Acclimatization of the tissue culture-derived plantlets under field conditions promulgates the establishment of a complete in vitro regeneration methodology in strawberry. Endeavors to Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing in strawberry have been intensively explored owing to small genome size, uncomplicated genetic modification, and high in vitro regeneration frequency. Nanotechnology in the form of nanoparticle-solution application in strawberry exhibited significant improvement in plant growth and development, enhanced plant metabolism, and post-harvest fruit management. Omics approaches in strawberry have generated a comprehensive knowledge database on the genetic composition of this crop, its function, classification, and inter-relatedness that are crucial towards its successful genetic improvement. Hence, based on this backdrop, the present article reviews the depth and extent of biotechnological tools and techniques explored in strawberry over the past 10 years and analyzes the prospects and possibilities of such approaches for future crop improvement, productivity, and sustainability.