2023/12/12 by Chevreau, Elisabeth
#FRUITS #GENE TRANSFER
paper · doi:10.17180/6ej3-8p19
Despite the global success of crop plant GMOs, the development of transgenic varieties is still vey limited for fruit species. Technological progresses enable genetic transformation of most fruit species. However, the efficiency of these methods is very variable, and some fruit species are still recalcitrant. Gene transfer enables modification of some traits through addition of a new gene, silencing of a gene, or modification of a gene regulation. Examples of traits which have been modified by gene transfer in fruit species include resistance to virus, bacteria and fungus diseases, tree habit, reproductive cycle and some fruit quality traits. Only one ansgenic fruit variety is presently on the market: the “Rainbow” papaya, carrying a resistance to a virus disease. The next variety presently under deregulation in USA is the transgenic plum “Honey Sweet”, resistant to sharka. Among the most promising current research topics is the possibility of reducing the duration of juvenile phase and thus of accelerating breeding cycles. Other methodological improvements now enable production of “intragenic” varieties, containing only genetic sequences from the plant itself or from one of its closely related species.