Biotechnological Approaches for Genetic Improvement of Castor Bean (Ricinus communis L.),

Abstract

Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is an annual chiefy non-edible oilseed crop of commercial and industrial importance cultivated worldwide. There are emerging genetic improvement objectives including the need for developing CMS system, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, ideal plant types for high-density planting and mechanical harvesting, and ricin-free castor bean seeds. Conventional breeding efforts and innovations including hybrid development using two-line system, selecting annual type from perennial nature, incorporating resistance against diseases, increasing harvest index, etc. have contributed immensely for increasing the productivity of the crop. However, in the absence of suitable genetic material with suitable traits, a few of the objectives such as resistance to gray mold disease, resistance to foliage feeders, ricin-free castor bean, etc. have not been achieved with the traditional approach. In this background, the success stories that have been witnessed in other crops as well as with the basic information that has been generated in castor bean suggest that biotechnological approaches employing genomics assisted breeding and genetic engineering strategies have immense potential in the genetic improvement of castor bean. With this understanding, to create an updated information, the available literature on various aspects of biotechnological research such as genetic and genomic resources, genetic engineering tools, and techniques developed in castor bean has been reviewed, and appropriate strategies along with the future scope are presented that could be adopted for genetic enhancement of castor bean both for input and output traits.