Gene transformation

The technique of recombinant DNA is promising in fruit crops because, more than other biotechnological techniques, it seems to be more precise in correcting deficiencies in commercial cultivars or rootstocks without disrupting their otherwise desirable genetic make-up (Schuerman and Dandekar 1993). At present the insertion of foreign (alien) genes into the plant DNA, which could alter the functionality of neighbour genes and the induction of somaclonal variation, cannot yet be fully controlled. These problems can be overcome by producing a high number of plants from many transformation events, selecting the best genotype among a large number of transformants. The procedure used to transfer genes to fruit crops has been described, for example, in Dandekar (1992) and is discussed in more detail in section Genetic modification of agronomic traits in fruit crops, and reviews of fruit crop transformation are reported by Singh and Sansavini (1998).