Current Transformation Methods for Genome-Editing Applications in Energy Crop Sugarcane

Abstract

Sugarcane is an important worldwide cash crop used for both sugar and ethanol production. Improvement of sugarcane through conventional breeding practices has been limited by its complex polyploid genome. Considerable improvements have been made with sugarcane through transgenic technology. Biolistic and Agrobacterium transformation methods have been regularly employed to develop transgenic sugarcane containing key agronomic traits. Transgenic sugarcane has been approved for commercial cultivation in both Indonesia and Brazil. Hightransformation efficiencies are on the horizon due to improved methods. Recent advances using CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindrome repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated) genome-editing systems require a robust transformation method. Efficient sugarcane transformation protocols will be vital in harnessing the potential of this cash crop. This chapter describes recent advances in sugarcane transformation and highlights novel improvement strategies to enhance target gene expression.