Factors affecting genetic transformation efficiency in sugarcane

Abstract

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is an important cash crop cultivated across the world. Conventional breeding methods are used to cross different Saccharum spp. to develop sugarcane hybrids with high sucrose content and for other novel traits including increased tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Two major factors that limit conventional breeding method are that it is highly time consuming and difficulty in getting the desirable trait in the hybrid. These limita- tions can be overcome by genetic transformation method in which specific gene(s) are used to generate stable transgenic lines expressing specific trait. Compared to conventional breeding methods, generation of stable lines takes less time. In addi- tion, complications associated with backcross and testcross during breeding pro- gram can be avoided. There are several reports since 1990s mentioning generation of transgenic sugarcane by different methods of transformation such as electropora- tion, particle bombardment method, and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transient expression systems have also been developed in sugarcane. Nevertheless, all transformation methodologies have their own limitation which hinders the stable expression of the transformed gene. Here, we discuss about the complications and factors affecting efficiency of genetic transformation in sugarcane.