Advances in Genetic Transformation of Leguminous Crops
Mamta R Shah
Plant Biotechnology and Secondary Products Section, Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India.
Suchita Kamble
Plant Biotechnology and Secondary Products Section, Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India.
Shivani Indurker
Plant Biotechnology and Secondary Products Section, Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India
Susan Eapen *
Plant Biotechnology and Secondary Products Section, Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Crop legumes play a pivotal role as the major source of protein in the diet of the population of developing countries, while some crop legumes like peanut and soybean also serve as a source of high quality oil. Although several transgenic crops have been grown over several million hectares in the world, crop legumes are not yet commercially exploited using transgenic tools for improving the food security of the developing countries except soybean. Production of crop legumes is greatly hampered by several biotic and abiotic stresses and transgenic technology can be used for the improvement of these traits. This review summarizes the advances made in genetic transformation of "crop legumes" and the future prospects.
Keywords: Grain legumes, Crop legumes, Genetic transformation, Plant regeneration, Transgenic plants