Overcoming key technical challenges in the genetic transformation of pineapple

Abstract

In recent years, transgenic technology has become the most important tool for molecular breeding. An efficient genetic transformation system is the key to improving the efficiency of biological breeding, and Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation is the common method used in plant genetic transformation experiments. Pineapple is an important tropical horticultural plant, but it has a very narrow genetic base, high genome heterozygosity, and strict self-incompatibility, thus limiting the value of conventional breeding techniques. To shorten the breeding cycle and create new subversive varieties, transgenic research of pineapple is imperative. Due to the characteristics of pineapple, in vitro regeneration technology is relatively straightforward, but it can still be very difficult to obtain pineapple transgenic materials. Over more than 20 years of research on pineapple genetic transformation, we have explored, continuously improved and now established a set of transformation tools for the simple and effective transformation of pineapple genes. The basic premise of our approach is a straightforward redifferentiation of pineapple suckers as explants. Specifically, the receptor material that is the basis for the successful transformation of pineapple is the in vitro culture of callus, which is a tissue that has not yet entered the organ differentiation stage. The nptII gene was selected as the optimal selection marker gene and the somatic embryogenesis pathway is used for screening and regeneration.