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Published online 23 April 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.772
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Papaya genome project bears fruit
Hawaiian researchers aim to help transgenic crop gain a bigger market.
The Hawaii Papaya Genome Project published the complete genome of the transgenic 'SunUp' papaya in Nature this week. The papaya marks the fifth plant genome to be completed and the first transgenic fruit crop.
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Cultivated, bred, developed by American Indians, papaya is delicious. How did the hermaphroditic features develop? My Indian host family called them 'male' plants, but this suggests how they would fruit.
This genome project has not only enlightened the papaya fruit, but also gives a new direction to pomology. Both ripen and unripe fruits of papaya are of great nutritional value. I saw lot of papaya plants grow taller but do not fruit. In rural parts of India people make a hole in the stem and put a stick penetrating the hole. After that some plants they flowers and then fruit and those fruits are similar to that of normal. They believe, making a hole in the stem change the gender of the plant. I think those simple hypothesis needs the attention of researcher. What is the success rate of transgenic papaya and are those transgenic fruit inheriting all traits in terms of nutritional value? Does this genome project targeting to analyze genome level difference of wild papaya plants growing under different climatic conditions accross the globe? Sasmita Mishra, PhD University of Toledo