Genetic manipulation of litchi for crop improvement: Challenges and possibilities

Abstract

Litchi fruit crop comprises a lucrative commodity, which significantly contributes to the economic sustainability and livelihood for millions of people in Southeast Asia. Litchi fruit is accepted globally due to its unique taste, rich nutritional value, and exotic aroma and flavor. However, its commercial production and geographical expansion remain constrained due to several reasons that include limited availability of suitable cultivars, irregular flowering, poor production, and unpredictable weather which limits pollination during blooming. At the present juncture, there is a lack of optimized breeding system for crop improvement. In vitro plant regeneration has been harnessed to give an impetus to production of litchi, but litchi being a recalcitrant plant and restrictions in explant collection slows the progress in this regard. Genetic transformation along with omics approach and biotechnology tools may immensely help in development of desired cultivars of litchi. In the present chapter, we discuss the challenges and possibilities of genetic manipulation of litchi.