Genetic Transformation inCitrus

Abstract

Citrus is one of the world’s important fruit crops. Recently, citrus molecular genetics and biotechnology work have been accelerated in the world. Genetic transformation, a biotechnological tool, allows the release of improved cultivars with desirable characteristics in a shorter period of time and therefore may be useful in citrus breeding programs.Citrustransformation has now been achieved in a number of laboratories by various methods.Agrobacterium tumefaciensis used mainly in citrus transformation studies. Particle bombardment, electroporation,A. rhizogenes, and a new method called RNA interference are used in citrus transformation studies in addition toA. tumefaciens. In this review, we illustrate how different gene transformation methods can be employed in different citrus species.