Molecular Plant Breeding 2025, Vol.16, No.3, 191-201 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/mpb 198 commercial product that delays softening. It extends the shelf life by inhibiting PG expression through antisense RNA. It verifies the feasibility of cell wall enzyme regulation, but also reminds us that we need to balance flavor-Flavr Savr was withdrawn from the market due to limited texture improvement and high cost (Lobato-Gómez et al., 2021). Gene editing technology has also been applied to fruit trees such as grapes and citrus to improve quality and disease resistance, such as editing grape powdery mildew resistance genes to obtain disease-resistant plants. Of particular note is the practice of gene editing in bananas and tomatoes: the achievement of extending the shelf life of bananas through CRISPR has proved that the technology can be used for tropical fruits (Prado et al., 2024). Tomatoes have become a pioneer in gene editing breeding. After high GABA healthy tomatoes entered the Japanese market, there have been many recent studies on gene editing tomatoes to improve flavor and delay softening (Tariq et al., 2024). 7 Challenges and Future Research Directions 7.1 Technical challenges The genetic transformation and regeneration system of durian is not yet mature. Compared with model plants, durian needs to establish an efficient tissue culture method before gene editing. In addition, durian is a perennial woody plant, usually cross-pollinated, and the edited strains need to undergo multiple generations of self-pollination to purify mutations or be applied through grafting, which is more complicated and time-consuming than annual crops. In the case of multi-gene editing, the phenotypes of different mutation combinations require a large number of planting tests and comparisons, which also requires a long period of time. Potential off-target effects also need to be paid attention to. Although plant genomes are large and have many redundant sequences, a small number of off-target mutations are unlikely to cause serious effects, but applications in food should strive to avoid any unexpected changes. To this end, higher-fidelity editing enzymes, specific sgRNA design, and whole-genome sequencing screening of edited offspring can be used to ensure safety (Akanmu et al., 2024). 7.2 Economic and ecological benefits Despite the challenges, successful gene editing of durian will bring huge economic benefits. Extending the shelf life means that exporters can use cheaper transportation methods (such as sea transportation instead of air transportation) to reduce logistics costs; fruit farmers can also keep durian on the tree for longer to achieve optimal maturity before harvesting, without worrying about not being able to sell it in the short term. A longer sales window is conducive to the market regulating supply and demand, avoiding depreciation caused by concentrated listing, and reducing waste caused by throwing away due to unsalable goods. Consumers can store and eat durian more calmly, improving consumer experience and demand stability. In terms of ecology, reducing post-harvest losses means that planting the same number of durian trees can meet the needs of more people and improve the efficiency of agricultural resource utilization. Storage-resistant durian can also reduce the cold chain energy consumption and chemical preservative input required for preservation, reducing carbon footprint and environmental pollution. At the same time, if durian can be kept fresh for a long time, it will reduce a large amount of organic waste and methane emissions caused by fruit rot, which is beneficial to the environment. Of course, these benefits can only be fully realized after a large-scale supply chain is built. 7.3 Food safety and public acceptance Any new technology related to food must put safety and public awareness first. Genome editing essentially makes minor changes to the durian’s own DNA without introducing exogenous genes, and theoretically does not produce new toxic and harmful substances. Current scientific evidence also shows that there is no difference in food safety between gene-edited fruits and traditionally bred fruits. For example, an analysis of the ingredients of genetically modified papayas that delay ripening found that their main nutrients, such as beta-carotene and vitamin C, were not significantly different from those of ordinary papayas (Cabanos et al., 2014). Nevertheless, before launching gene-edited durian, a comprehensive safety assessment is still required, including genetic stability, component equivalence testing, and allergen inspection to ensure that the improvement only occurs in the expected traits and no other negative changes are introduced.
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