In Vitro Culture and Genetic Transformation in Mango

Mango is one of the world’s most important fruit crops and is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics. Despite its importance in local economies and as an increasingly important export crop, very little progress has been made in terms of classical breeding and genetics that would facilitate mango cultivar improvement. Consequently, almost all the important mango cultivars in its area of origin in India and Southeast Asia are clonal selections that are several hundred years old. Biotechnology has the potential to revolutionize mango improvement, germplasm storage and production. Genetic transformation of embryogenic cultures opens the possibility of improving existing cultivars by incorporating into their genomes genes that target specific traits. Embryogenic mango cultures have the potential to rationalize germplasm storage and the international exchange of disease-indexed clonal materials. Finally, the development of efficient in vitro vegetative reproduction systems, whether this is based upon production of embryogenic or shoot tip and nodal cultures, could enable the availability of clonal rootstocks of exotic monoembryonic selections.