GENETIC-IMPROVEMENT OF FLORICULTURAL CROPS USING BIOTECHNOLOGY

Floricultural crops are an ideal target for improvement using biotechnology. While a range of techniques such as somaclonal variation, embryo and haploid culture has been successfully used, they have yet to result in the release of a new cultivar that has a major impact on the industry. Genetic engineering, more than any other technique, offers the most potential because it is possible to transfer a new gene, conferring a single trait, to an existing cultivar. Recent advances in the regeneration of adventitious shoots and somatic embryos, and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the major flower crops (carnation, chrysanthemum, rose and gerbera) are reviewed. To date, all four species can be regenerated and transformed but with varying degrees of success. Notable advances have been made with carnation and chrysanthemum, where genes of potential importance have been transferred and expressed.