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Plants
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Plant Biotechnology for Fruit Crop Improvement: Development and Innovation
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Plant Biotechnology for Fruit Crop Improvement: Development and Innovation

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2023) | Viewed by 4434

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Silvia Sabbadini

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
Interests: techniques for creating genetic variability in perennial fruit crops; in vitro regeneration approaches (organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis) to be applied for mutagenesis and new genomic techniques; RNAi strategies (HIGS, SIGS); cisgenesis/intragenesis; gene editing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Luca Capriotti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
Interests: in vitro morphogenic pathways: organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis in fruit tree species; the study of recalcitrance to regeneration and genetic transformation; traditional breeding strategies, such as the application of chemical mutagens associated with in vitro regeneration; post-transcriptional gene silencing mediated by RNA interference (both HIGS and SIGS) to increase the tolerance to biotic stresses (mainly fungi and oomycetes); stabilization and greenhouse or open field application of dsRNA molecules to protect fruit crops from different pathogens
Dr. Angela Ricci

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
Interests: In vitro regeneration through organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis and Agrobacterium mediated-genetic transformation of fruit tree species (especially peach, pear and blackberry) useable for the application of NBTs; RNAi-based strategies such as HIGS and SIGS approaches to induce resistance against pathogens in fruit tree species (especially viruses in peach and fungi in pear)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruit trees are economically important crops, and as long-lived woody perennial species, they require adapted biotechnological approaches. Numerous molecular and biotechnological tools, as well as several genome sequences, are now available for perennial fruit crop breeding, and to study the complex traits that can help their adaptation to the current challenging environmental conditions. The creation of new, more resilient cultivars, with high quality and yield parameters, is one of the main goals of fruit tree genetic improvement. The application of new genomic techniques, such as genome editing, cisgenesis/intragenesis, RNAi strategies (HIGS, SIGS), and molecular breeding techniques, can help to speed up the discovery of improved fruit trees species.

This Special Issue of Plants aims to summarize the recent findings on novel genetic-based discoveries and biotechnological approaches that try to explain and overcome the recalcitrance of these species to in vitro morphogenesis and genetic transformation. In addition, research articles related to the discovery and characterization of novel genes, crop traits, MAS and comparative genomics in woody species are welcome. This research topic aims to investigate the opportunities that biotechnology, including new genomic techniques, can offer in enhancing the productive and qualitative traits, as well as the resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, of fruit trees.

Dr. Silvia Sabbadini
Dr. Luca Capriotti
Dr. Angela Ricci
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fruit crops
  • in vitro morphogenesis
  • new genomic techniques
  • MAS
  • yield and quality
  • disease resistance
  • marker-free system
  • transgrafting
  • mutagenesis

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2509 KiB  
Article
Studies on Improving the Efficiency of Somatic Embryogenesis in Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) and Optimising Ethyl Methanesulfonate Treatment for Mutation Induction
by Ranjith Pathirana and Francesco Carimi
Plants 2023, 12(24), 4126; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12244126 - 11 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1171
Abstract
Somatic embryogenesis (SE) has many applications in grapevine biotechnology including micropropagation, eradicating viral infections from infected cultivars, mass production of hypocotyl explants for micrografting, as a continuous source for haploid and doubled haploid plants, and for germplasm conservation. It is so far the [...] Read more.
Somatic embryogenesis (SE) has many applications in grapevine biotechnology including micropropagation, eradicating viral infections from infected cultivars, mass production of hypocotyl explants for micrografting, as a continuous source for haploid and doubled haploid plants, and for germplasm conservation. It is so far the only pathway for the genetic modification of grapevines through transformation. The single-cell origin of somatic embryos makes them an ideal explant for mutation breeding as the resulting mutants will be chimera-free. In the present research, two combinations of plant growth regulators and different explants from flower buds at two stages of maturity were tested in regard to the efficiency of callusing and embryo formation from the callus produced in three white grape cultivars. Also, the treatment of somatic embryos with the chemical mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) was optimised. Medium 2339 supplemented with β-naphthoxyacetic acid (5 μM) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP—9.0 μM) produced significantly more calluses than medium 2337 supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (4.5 µM) and BAP (8.9 µM) in all explants. The calluses produced on medium 2337 were harder and more granular and produced more SEs. Although the stage of the maturity of floral bud did not have a significant effect on the callusing of the explants, calluses produced from immature floral bud explants in the premeiotic stage produced significantly more SEs than those from more mature floral buds. Overall, immature ovaries and cut floral buds exposing the cut ends of filaments, style, etc., tested for the first time in grapevine SE, produced the highest percentage of embryogenic calluses. It is much more efficient to cut the floral bud and culture than previously reported explants such as anthers, ovaries, stigmas and styles during the short flowering period when the immature flower buds are available. When the somatic embryos of the three cultivars were incubated for one hour with 0.1% EMS, their germination was reduced by 50%; an ideal treatment considered to obtain a high frequency of mutations for screening. Our research findings will facilitate more efficient SE induction in grapevines and inducing mutations for improving individual traits without altering the genetic background of the cultivar. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Biotechnology for Fruit Crop Improvement: Development and Innovation)
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18 pages, 4603 KiB  
Article
Apple CRISPR-Cas9—A Recipe for Successful Targeting of AGAMOUS-like Genes in Domestic Apple
by Seth Jacobson, Natalie Bondarchuk, Thy Anh Nguyen, Allison Canada, Logan McCord, Timothy S. Artlip, Philipp Welser and Amy L. Klocko
Plants 2023, 12(21), 3693; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12213693 - 26 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1366
Abstract
Fruit trees and other fruiting hardwood perennials are economically valuable, and there is interest in developing improved varieties. Both conventional breeding and biotechnology approaches are being utilized towards the goal of developing advanced cultivars. Increased knowledge of the effectiveness and efficiency of biotechnology [...] Read more.
Fruit trees and other fruiting hardwood perennials are economically valuable, and there is interest in developing improved varieties. Both conventional breeding and biotechnology approaches are being utilized towards the goal of developing advanced cultivars. Increased knowledge of the effectiveness and efficiency of biotechnology approaches can help guide use of the CRISPR gene-editing technology. Here, we examined CRISPR-Cas9-directed genome editing in the valuable commodity fruit tree Malus x domestica (domestic apple). We transformed two cultivars with dual CRISPR-Cas9 constructs designed to target two AGAMOUS-like genes simultaneously. The main goal was to determine the effectiveness of this approach for achieving target gene changes. We obtained 6 Cas9 control and 38 independent CRISPR-Cas9 events. Of the 38 CRISPR-Cas9 events, 34 (89%) had gene edits and 14 (37%) showed changes to all alleles of both target genes. The most common change was large deletions, which were present in 59% of all changed alleles, followed by small deletions (21%), small insertions (12%), and a combination of small insertions and deletions (8%). Overall, a high rate of successful gene alterations was found. Many of these changes are predicted to cause frameshifts and alterations to the predicted peptides. Future work will include monitoring the floral development and floral form. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Biotechnology for Fruit Crop Improvement: Development and Innovation)
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17 pages, 3106 KiB  
Article
Putative Daucus carota Capsanthin-Capsorubin Synthase (DcCCS) Possesses Lycopene β-Cyclase Activity, Boosts Carotenoid Levels, and Increases Salt Tolerance in Heterologous Plants
by Carolina Rosas-Saavedra, Luis Felipe Quiroz, Samuel Parra, Christian Gonzalez-Calquin, Daniela Arias, Nallat Ocarez, Franco Lopez and Claudia Stange
Plants 2023, 12(15), 2788; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12152788 - 27 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1112
Abstract
Plant carotenoids are synthesized and accumulated in plastids through a highly regulated pathway. Lycopene β-cyclase (LCYB) is a key enzyme involved directly in the synthesis of α-carotene and β-carotene through the cyclization of trans-lycopene. Daucus carota harbors two LCYB genes, of which DcLCYB2 [...] Read more.
Plant carotenoids are synthesized and accumulated in plastids through a highly regulated pathway. Lycopene β-cyclase (LCYB) is a key enzyme involved directly in the synthesis of α-carotene and β-carotene through the cyclization of trans-lycopene. Daucus carota harbors two LCYB genes, of which DcLCYB2 (annotated as CCS-Like) is mostly expressed in mature storage roots, an organ that accumulates high α-carotene and β-carotene content. In this work, we determined that DcLCYB2 of the orange Nantes variety presents plastid localization and encodes for a functional LCYB enzyme determined by means of heterologous complementation in Escherichia coli. Also, ectopic expression of DcLCYB2 in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) plants increases total carotenoid content showing its functional role in plants. In addition, transgenic tobacco T2 homozygous plants showed better performance under chronic salt treatment, while kiwi transgenic calli also presented a higher survival rate under salt treatments than control calli. Our results allow us to propose DcLCYB2 as a prime candidate to engineer carotenoid biofortified crops as well as crops resilient to saline environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Biotechnology for Fruit Crop Improvement: Development and Innovation)
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