Biotechnology applied to the genetic improvement of coffee plant/Biotecnologia aplicada ao melhoramento genetico do cafeeiro

• Published in: Ciência rural 2011-05, Vol.41 (5), p.753
• Main Authors: de Morais, Tamara Prado, de Melo, Benjamim
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Subjects: Biotechnology; Genetic engineering; Genetically modified organisms
• ISSN: 0103-8478

Genetic improvement of coffee through classical breeding is laborious and time consuming. Biotechnology offers alternative strategies to assist multiplication and development of new and improved coffee varieties, including those resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses, with better cup quality, and with uniform fruit maturation. Tissue culture techniques have enabled the production of a large number of plants with genetic uniformity. The use of molecular markers, especially through assisted selection, led to rapid progress of coffee plant breeding, as well as the use of genetic transformation by protoplasts culture and fusion, biobalistics, or Agrobacterium-mediated. This review provides a summary of biotechnology history, current situation and directions applied to the genetic improvement of coffee plant. Key words: Coffea sp., tissue culture, molecular markers, genetic engineering. O melhoramento genetico do cafeeiro mediante tecnicas convencionais e trabalhoso e demorado. A biotecnologia oferece estrategias alternativas para auxiliar na multiplicacao e no desenvolvimento de novas variedades com resistencia a estresses bioticos e abioticos, melhor qualidade de bebida e maturacao mais uniforme dos frutos. As tecnicas de cultura de tecidos tem possibilitado a obtencao de grande numero de plantas e a garantia da uniformidade genetica do material. O emprego de marcadores moleculares, principalmente atraves da selecao assistida, facilitou o rapido progresso do melhoramento genetico da cultura, assim como a transformacao genetica, via cultura e fusao de protoplastos, biobalistica ou mediada por Agrobacterium sp. Esta revisao objetiva sumarizar o historico, situacao atual e perspectivas da biotecnologia no melhoramento genetico do cafeeiro. Palavras-chave: Coffea sp., cultura de tecidos, marcadores moleculares, engenharia genetica.