Genetic Transformation of Arachis hypogaea Using Novel Genes Conferring Fungal Resistance-A Review

Abstract

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) or the common ‘peanut’ is a worldwide popular, affordable food containing high protein, calories, vitamins, and minerals. Several biotic and abiotic stresses are responsible for reaching the expected production of peanuts worldwide. Especially, the fungi are the major constraints that not only hamper the production but also that is deadly health hazardous for both human consumption and poultry-livestock. Approaches from various dimensions like cultural management, diseases free cultivar development, hybridization, tissue culture, and genetic transformations have been tried to overcome such challenges. This review epitomizes the total scenario from the plant physiological basis of fungal diseases to the peanut development approaches, which aimed to develop a concrete understanding of sustainable management of peanut production. Comparisons of Genetic Engineering methods such as Agrobacterium-mediated and direct gene gun (particle bombardment- mediated) with traditional hybridization have been compiled here, furthermore, candidate genes transformed to achieve fungus-resistance in peanuts have been listed up to provide an overview. Along with, the limitations of transformation attempts and the techniques for improvisation of transformation techniques have been discussed in sustainable peanut production. This study provides, comprehensive information on fungal-resistant peanut development so that, further research in this arena could be guided in an integrated way, which may serve for the thrust of sustainable improvisation in peanut cultivation.