title: Genetic engineering and sustainable production of ornamentals: current status and future directions.
abstract: Through the last decades, environmentally and health-friendly production methods and conscientious use of resources have become crucial for reaching the goal of a more sustainable plant production. Protection of the environment requires careful consumption of limited resources and reduction of chemicals applied during production of ornamental plants. Numerous chemicals used in modern plant production have negative impacts on human health and are hazardous to the environment. In Europe, several compounds have lost their approval and further legal restrictions can be expected. This review presents the more recent progress of genetic engineering in ornamental breeding, delivers an overview of the biological background of the used technologies and critically evaluates the usefulness of the strategies to obtain improved ornamental plants. First, genetic engineering is addressed as alternative to growth retardants, comprising recombinant DNA approaches targeting relevant hormone pathways, e.g. the gibberellic acid (GA) pathway. A reduced content of active GAs causes compact growth and can be facilitated by either decreased anabolism, increased catabolism or altered perception. Moreover, compactness can be accomplished by using a natural transformation approach without recombinant DNA technology. Secondly, metabolic engineering approaches targeting elements of the ethylene signal transduction pathway are summarized as a possible alternative to avoid the use of chemical ethylene inhibitors. In conclusion, molecular breeding approaches are dealt with in a way allowing a critical biological assessment and enabling the scientific community and public to put genetic engineering of ornamental plants into a perspective regarding their usefulness in plant breeding.
authors.affiliation: Crop Sciences, Department of Agriculture and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Højbakkegård Alle 9, 2630 Taastrup, Denmark. hlm@life.ku.dk
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lütken
authors.forename: Jihong Liu
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D001947:Breeding; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000378:metabolism; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D005875:Gibberellins / Q000378:metabolism; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
chemical_list: D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D005030:Ethylenes; D005875:Gibberellins; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; C036216:ethylene; C007842:gibberellic acid