Transgenic research on tomato: Problems, strategies, and achievements

Abstract

Tomato is a climacteric fruit; it is widely consumed as vegetables worldwide either raw or cooked owing to the antioxidative and anticancer properties of lycopene, a dynamic carotenoid pigment of tomato. Nonetheless, since the past few decades, the productivity of tomato is compromised by an array of biotic and abiotic stresses along with deterioration of desirable quality parameters. Consequently, the development of stress-tolerant quality crops is a strategic challenge for agricultural biotechnology. Genetic transformation approach permits to insert defined gene simultaneously avoiding the elimination of any intrinsic genetic attributes unlike the occasion of conventional in situ or true in vitro screening. Till date, a number of attempts have been made to mitigate biotic and abiotic stress on tomato keeping the improvement of quality parameters in mind. Majority of such modifications comprise of the expression of stress-inducible genes, manipulation in the metabolic pathways, or the accumulation of low molecular compounds that function critically in retaining the agility of reactions. In this chapter, we offer an overview of the strategies based on frequently selected target sequences or molecules that are genetically transferred or modified to attain genetically transformed tomatoes tolerant to environmental stresses as well as to improve the quality traits of its fruits.