Molecular Plant Breeding 2025, Vol.16, No.3, 202-210 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/mpb 207 low-acid and sweeter tomato varieties. In terms of aroma, for example, the Klee and Tieman research group used multi-omics methods to identify dozens of candidate genes related to tomato flavor. Among them, the synthesis of cheese-flavored volatile esters is related to an acyltransferase, and mutation of this gene can reduce unpleasant odors (Miao et al., 2024). Strawberry flavor is known for its aroma. Because strawberries are allo-octoploid and have a complex genome, direct gene editing applications are still limited, but the discovery of related genes is very active. In 2022, the Whitaker team at the University of Florida constructed a strawberry multi-omics analysis framework and identified important genes that control strawberry aroma, including the aforementioned FaOMT (controlling caramel aroma substance dimethoxyfuranone) and FanAAT (controlling jasmine aroma substance methyl mandelate) key allele variants (Fan et al., 2022). Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Florida collaborated to significantly extend the shelf life of the fruit while maintaining the flavor by editing the strawberry softening enzyme gene (López-Casado et al., 2023). Therefore, by learning from the successful cases of model fruits such as tomatoes and strawberries, and combining the flavor metabolism characteristics of golden pitaya itself for gene editing design, it is expected to break through the bottleneck of traditional breeding and cultivate new varieties of golden pitaya with significantly improved flavor. 5.2 Prediction of potential successful cases of flavor improvement of golden pitaya As far as golden pitaya is concerned, there is no public report on direct gene editing and improvement of it. However, China has made some progress in pitaya tissue culture and transgenic. For example, the team of South China Agricultural University has established an efficient tissue culture regeneration system and genetic transformation method for red dragon fruit. These methods are expected to be applied to golden pitaya. It is expected that by knocking out the sugar repression gene and acid accumulation gene in golden pitaya at the same time, it is expected to cultivate a new strain that is sweeter and has moderate acidity, greatly improve the sugar-acid ratio, and have a better taste; by editing the key aromatic pathway genes, the aroma concentration and level of golden pitaya will also be enhanced, or it will be given a new charming aroma. For example, if the ability to synthesize γ-decalactone in strawberries can be introduced, or the grassy volatiles can be reduced, it is believed that the flavor of golden pitaya will be more perfect. 6 Technical Challenges and Solutions 6.1 The genetic transformation system is not yet perfect Golden pitaya belongs to the cactus family. The stem is fleshy and juicy and contains unique mucilage. Studies have found that grafting technology can change the physical properties of golden pitaya (such as fruit weight, diameter and length) (Figure 2) (Sanmiguel et al., 2025), but traditional tissue culture and genetic transformation are difficult. In previous studies on pitaya plants, regeneration is often carried out by inducing adventitious buds from callus tissue, which is inefficient and has a long cycle. Therefore, how to establish a stable and efficient golden pitaya regeneration and transformation system is the first problem to be solved. Figure 2 Color comparison of grafted S. megalanthus fruits at different maturity stages (Adopted from Sanmiguel et al., 2025)
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