Agricultural Reviews

  • Chief EditorPradeep K. Sharma

  • Print ISSN 0253-1496

  • Online ISSN 0976-0741

  • NAAS Rating 4.84

Frequency :
Quarterly (March, June, September & December)
Indexing Services :
AGRICOLA, Google Scholar, CrossRef, CAB Abstracting Journals, Chemical Abstracts, Indian Science Abstracts, EBSCO Indexing Services, Index Copernicus
Agricultural Reviews, volume 33 issue 3 (september 2012) : 248-255

ROLE OF GENETIC ENGINEERING IN HORTICULTURAL CROP IMPROVEMENT – A REVIEW

Ajay Kumar Thakur*, Devendra Kumar Chauhan1, Nehanjali Parmar, Vandana Verma2
1Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan-173 230, India
  • Submitted|

  • First Online |

  • doi

Cite article:- Thakur* Kumar Ajay, Chauhan1 Kumar Devendra, Parmar Nehanjali, Verma2 Vandana (2024). ROLE OF GENETIC ENGINEERING IN HORTICULTURAL CROP IMPROVEMENT – A REVIEW. Agricultural Reviews. 33(3): 248-255. doi: .
Biotechnology has offered tremendous scope and potential to conventional methods of crop improvement, crop protection, crop quality management and other horticultural traits. Biotechnology extends tremendous opportunities in fruit production by providing new genotypes for breeding purpose, supply of healthy and disease free planting material, improvement in fruit quality, enhancing shelf-life, availability of biopesticides, biofertilizers, etc. Integration of specially desired traits through genetic engineering has been possible in some horticultural crops. Recent advancements in molecular biology and genetic transformation have made it possible to identify, isolate and transfer desirable genes from any living organism to plants. The introduction or enhancement of desirable traits is traditionally done by breeding. This is time consuming and also not very precise. On the other hand, genetic engineering creates plants with specific changes in the background of a proven cultivar without disturbing their genetic constitution. Expression of undesirable genes can be blocked by the application of antisense gene technology and RNAi technology. Genetic transformation provides the means for modifying horticultural traits in various horticultural crops without altering their phenotype. Biotechnological interventions that could increase the efficiency of horticultural crop improvement are essential to generate plants with several desirable traits.
  1. Belfanti, E., Silfverberg-dilworth, T.E.S., Patocchi, A., Barbieri, M. and Zhu, J. (2004). The HcrVf2 gene from a wild apple confers scab resistance to a transgenic cultivated variety. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 101: 886-890.
  2. Bovy, A.G., Angenent, G.C., Dons, H.J.M. and van-Atvorst, A.G. (1999). Heterologous expression of the Arabidopsis etr1-1 allele inhibits the senescence of carnation flowers. Mol. Breed., 5: 301-308.
  3. Chakrabarty, R., Viswakarma, N., Bhat, S.R., Kirti, P.B., Singh, B.D. and Chopra, V.L. (2002). Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cauliflower: optimization of protocol and development of Bt-transgenic cauliflower. J. Biosci., 27: 495-502.
  4. Cheng, L., Zou, Y., Ding, S., Zhang, J., Yu, X., Cao, J. and Lu, G. (2009). Polyamine accumulation in transgenic tomato enhances the tolerance to high temperature stress. J. Integ. Plant Biol., 51: 489-499.
  5. Clark, D.G., Loucas, H., Shibuya, K., Underwood, B., Barry, K. and Jandrew, J. (2003). Biotechnology of floricultural crops-scientific questions and real world answers. In: Plant Biotechnology 2002 and (Beyond, Vasil, I.K. Ed.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands: pp. 337-342.
  6. Clarke, J.L., Spetz, C., Haugslien, S., Xing, S., Dees, M.W., Moe, R. and Blystad, D.R. (2008). Agrobacterium tumefaciens- mediated transformation of poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, with virus-derived hairpin RNA constructs confers resistance to Poinsettia mosaic virus. Plant Cell Rep., 27: 1027-1038.
  7. Davuluri, G.R., Tuinen, A., Fraser, P.D., Manfredonia, A., Newman, R., Burgess, D. (2005). Fruit-specific RNAi-mediated suppression of DET1 enhances carotenoid and flavonoid content in tomatoes. Nat. Biotechnol., 23: 890-895.
  8. Escobar, M.A., Civerolo, E.L., Summerfelt, K.R. and Dandekar, A.M. (2001). RNAi-mediated oncogene silencing confers resistance to crown gall tumorigenesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 98: 13437-13442.
  9. Fagoaga, C, Rodrigo, I., Conejero, V., Hinarejos, C., Tuset, J.J., Arnau, J., Pina, J.A., Navarro, L. and Pena, L. (2001). Increased tolerance to Phytophthora citrophthora in transgenic orange plants constitutively expressing a tomato pathogenesis related protein PR-5. Mol. Breed., 7: 175-185.
  10. Faize, M., Sourice, S., Dupuis, F., Parisi, L., Gautier, M.F. and Chevreau, E. (2004). Expression of wheatpuroindoline- b reduces scab susceptibility in transgenic apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.). Plant Sci., 167: 347-354.
  11. Fischhoff, D.A., Bowdish, K.S., Perlak, F.J., Marrone, P.G., McCormick, S.M., Niedermeyer, J.G., Dean, D.A., Kusano-Kretzmer, K., Mayer, E.J., Rochester, D.E., Rogers, S.G. and Fraley, R.T. (1987). Insect tolerant tomato plants. BioTechnology, 5: 807-813.
  12. Girhepuje, P.V. and Shinde, G.B. (2011). Transgenic tomato plants expressing a wheat endochitinase gene demonstrate enhanced resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Plant Cell Tiss. Organ Cult., 105: 243-251.
  13. Holton, T.A., Brugliera, F. and Tanaka, Y. (1993). Cloning and expression of flavonol synthase from Petunia hybrida. Plant J., 4: 1003-1010.
  14. Husaini, A.M. and Abdin, M.Z. (2008). Overexpression of tobacco osmotin gene leads to salt stress tolerance in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) plants. Indian J. Biotech., 7: 465-471.
  15. Katsumoto, Y., Fukuchi-Mizutani, M., Fukui, Y., Brugliera, F., Holton, T.A., Karan, M., Nakamura, N., Yonekura- Sakakibara, K., Togami, J., Pigeaire, A., Tao, G.Q., Nehra, N.S., Lu, C.Y., Dyson, B.K., Tsuda, S., Ashikari, T., Kusumi, T., Mason, J.G. and Tanaka, Y. (2007). Engineering of the rose flavonoid biosynthetic pathway successfully generated blue-hued flowers accumulating delphinidin. Plant Cell Physiol., 48: 1589-1600.
  16. Khare, N., Goyary, D., Singh, N.K., Shah, P., Rathore, M., Anandhan, S., Sharma, D., Arif, M. and Ahmed, Z. (2010). Transgenic tomato cv. Pusa Uphar expressing a bacterial mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase gene confers abiotic stress tolerance. Plant Cell Tiss. Organ Cult., 2: 267-277.
  17. Kim, Y.S., Lim, S., Yoda, H., Choi, C.S., Choi, Y.E. and Sano, H. (2011). Simultaneous activation of salicylate production and fungal resistance in transgenic chrysanthemum producing caffeine. Plant Signal. Behav., 6: 409-412.
  18. Lin, W.C., Lu, C.F., Wu, J.W., Cheng, M.L., Lin, Y.M., Yang, N.S., Black, L., Green, S.K., Wang, J.F. and Cheng, C.P. (2004). Transgenic tomato plants expressing the Arabidopsis NPR1 gene display enhanced resistance to a spectrum of fungal and bacterial diseases. Transgenic Res., 13: 567-581.
  19. Lin, X., Gasic, K., Cammue, B., Broekaert, W. and Korban, S.S. (2003). Transgenic rose lines harboring an antimicrobial gene, Ace-AMP1, demonstrate enhanced resistance to powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca pannosa). Planta, 218: 226-232.
  20. Lu, C.Y., Chandler, S.F., Mason, J.G. and Brugliera, F. (2003). Florigene flowers: from laboratory to market. In: Plant Biotechnology 2002 and Beyond, (Vasil, I.K. Ed.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands: pp. 333-336.
  21. Lurquin, P. (2002). High tech harvest: Understanding genetically modified food plants. Westview Press Cambridge, MA, USA.
  22. Meyer, P., Heidmann, I., Forkmann, G. and Saedler, H. (1987). A new petunia flower colour generated by transformation of a mutant with a maize gene. Nature (London), 330: 677-678.
  23. Nambeesan, S., Datsenka, T., Ferruzzi, M.G., Malladi, A., Mattoo, A.K. and Handa, A.K. (2010). Overexpression of yeast spermidine synthase impacts ripening, senescence and decay symptoms in tomato. Plant J., 63: 836-847.
  24. Pandolfini, T., Molesini, B., Avesani, L., Spena, A. and Polverari, A. (2003). Expression of self-complementary hairpin RNA under the control of the rolC promoter confers systemic disease resistance to plum pox virus without preventing local infection. BMC Biotech., 3: 7.
  25. Park, S., Cheng, N.H., Pittman, J.K., Yoo, K.S., Park, J., Smith, R.H. and Hirschi, K.D. (2005). Increased calcium levels and prolonged shelf life in tomatoes expressing Arabidopsis H+/Ca2+. Plant Physiol., 139: 1194-1206.
  26. Paul, A., Sharma, S.R., Sresty, T.V.S., Devi, S., Bala, S., Kumar, P.S., Saradhi, P.P., Frutos, R., Altosaar, I. and Kumar, P.A. (2005). Transgenic cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) resistant to Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella). Indian J. Biotech., 4: 72-77.
  27. Praveen, S., Ramesh, S.V., Mishra, A.K., Koundal, V. and Palukaitis, P. (2010). Silencing potential of viral derived RNAi constructs in tomato leaf curl virus-AC4 gene suppression in tomato. Transgenic Res., 19: 45-55.
  28. Rivera-Domínguez, M., Astorga-Cienfuegos, K.R., Vallejo-Cohen, S., Vargas-Arispuro, I. and Sanchez-Sanchez, E. (2011). Transgenic mango embryos (Mangifera indica) cv. Ataulfo with the defensin J1 gene. Revista Mexicana de Fitopatologia, 29: 78-80.
  29. Roderick, H., Tripathi, L., Babirye, A., Wang, D., Tripathi, J., Urwin, P.E. and Atkinson, H.J. (2012). Generation of transgenic plantain (Musa spp.) with resistance to plant pathogenic nematodes. Mol. Plant Pathol., DOI: 10.1111/ j.1364-3703.2012.00792.x.
  30. Savin, K.W., Baudinette, S.C., Graham, M.W., Michael, M.Z., Nugent, G.D., Lu, C., Chandler, S.F. and Cornish, E.C. (1995). Antisense ACC oxidase RNA delays carnation petal senescence. Hort. Sci., 30: 970-972.
  31. Shah, D.M., Horsch, R.B., Klee, H.J., Kishore, G.M., Winter, J.A., Tumer, N.E., Hironaka, C.M., Sanders, P.R., Gasser, C.S., Aykent, S., Siegel, N.R., Rogers, S.G. and Fraley, R.T. (1986). Engineering herbicide tolerance in transgenic plants. Science, 233: 478-481.
  32. Shelton, A.M., Zhao, J.Z. and Roush, R.T. (2002). Economic, ecological, food safety, and social consequences of the deployment of Bt transgenic plants. Annu. Rev. Entomol., 47: 845-881.
  33. Smith, C.J.S., Watson, C.F., Ray, J., Bird, C.R., Morris, P.C., Schuch, W. and Grierson, D. (1988). Antisense RNA inhibition of polygalacturonase gene expression in transgenic tomatoes. Nature, 334: 724-726.
  34. Sripaoraya, S., Keawsompong, S., Insupa, P., Power, J.B., Davey, M.R. and Srinives, P. (2006). Genetically manipulated pineapple: transgene stability, gene expression and herbicide tolerance under field conditions. Plant Breed., 125: 411-413.
  35. Stewart, R.J., Sawyer, B.J.B., Bucheli, C.S. and Robinson, S.P. (2001). Polyphenol oxidase is induced by chilling and wounding in pineapple. Aus. J. Plant Physiol., 28: 181-191.
  36. Subramanyam, K., Sailaja, K.V., Subramanyam, K., Rao, D.M. and Lakshmidevi K. (2011). Ectopic expression of an osmotin gene leads to enhanced salt tolerance in transgenic chilli pepper (Capsicum annum L.). Plant Cell Tiss. Organ Cult., 105: 181-192.
  37. Tao, R., Dandekar, A.M., Uratsu, S.L., Vail, P.V. and Tebbets, J.L. (1997). Engineering genetic resistance against insects in Japanese Persimmon using the cryI(A)c gene of Bacillus thuringiensis. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci., 122: 764-771.
  38. Tsai-Hung, H., Jent-turn, L., Yee-yung, C. and Ming-Tsair, C. (2002). Heterology expression of the Arabidopsis C- Repeat/Dehydration Response Element Binding Factor 1 gene confers elevated tolerance to chilling and oxidative stresses in transgenic tomato. Plant Physiol., 130: 618-626.
  39. Yu, T.A., Chiang, C.H., Wu, H.W., Li, C.M., Yang, C.F., Chen, J.H., Chen, Y.W. and Yeh, S.D. (2011). Generation of transgenic watermelon resistant to Zucchini yellow mosaic virus and papaya ring spot virus type W. Plant Cell Rep., 30: 359-371.
  40. Van der Krol, A.R., Lenting, P.E., Veenstra, J., van der Meer, I.M., Koes, R.E., Gerats, A.G.M., Mol, J.N.M. and Stuitje, A.R. (1988). An antisense chalcone synthase gene in transgenic plants inhibits flower pigmentation. Nature, 333: 866-869.
  41. Xiangdong, W.E.I., Congyu1, L.A.N., Zhijing, L.U. and Changming, Y.E. (2007). Analysis on virus resistance and fruit quality for T4 generation of transgenic papaya. Front. Biol. China, 2: 284-290.
  42. Zhang, Y., Li, H., Shua, W., Zhanga, C. and Yea, Z. (2011). RNA interference of a mitochondrial APX gene improves vitamin C accumulation in tomato fruit. Sci. Hort., 129: 220-226.

Editorial Board

View all (0)