Resumen

VILLALTA-VILLALOBOS, Jimmy  y  GATICA-ARIAS, Andrés. A look back in time: genetic improvement of coffee through the application of biotechnology. Agron. Mesoam [online]. 2019, vol.30, n.2, pp.577-599. ISSN 2215-3608.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/am.v30i2.34173.

Introduction. Coffee (Coffea spp) is one of the most important crops worldwide, providing economic livelihood to millions of people in developing countries. There are more than 130 species of the Coffea genus, but only three species are commercially cultivated: Coffea arabica L. (2n=4x=44), Coffea canephora P. (2n=2x=22), and Coffea liberica L. (2n=2x=22). Which present limitations for their genetic improvement through conventional programs because of their perennial nature and differences in level of ploidy and incompatibility. Additionally, there are important characteristics such as resistance to pests or pathogens, which are not present in the available germplasm. Genetic engineering techniques have been used to solve this barrier, and significant advances have been generated during the last decades. Objective. The objective of this work was to provide an overview of the methodologies and advances in coffee genetic improvement through time, and ends with perspectives about the use of new technologies that have emerged in recent years. Development. The improvement began with the selection by crosses and interspecific backcrosses, to move to the selection assisted by molecular markers. Subsequently, the culture and fusion of protoplasts was reported, with the disadvantage in the regeneration process. Genetic engineering through physical (electroporation and biolistics), and biological techniques (A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes) helped to overcome the limitations of regeneration, although the optimization processes are still laborious, so, new technologies for editing genomes such as CRISPR-Cas9, can solve problems of time and work in the laboratory for the crop. Conclusion. The improvement of coffee began three decades ago and has progressed mainly since the beginning of transgenic technologies, and with the new techniques of specific modification of genes, the crop will benefit in the coming years.

Palabras clave : protoplasts; electroporation; genetic engineering; Agrobacterium tumefaciens; plasmid.

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