REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1619563
Role of Vasconcellea spp. in Carica papaya Improvement: Genetic Insights and Applications
Provisionally accepted
Dhanyasree K1*
Rafeekher M2- 1Department of Fruit Science, College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Thiruvananthapuram, India
- 2Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Thiruvananthapuram, India
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Carica papaya is an important tropical and subtropical fruit crop, widely valued for its economic and nutritional significance. However, its cultivation faces challenges from biotic and abiotic stresses, limiting yield and fruit quality. Vasconcellea spp., a closely related genus within the Caricaceae family, has emerged as a promising genetic resource for papaya improvement.These wild relatives exhibit valuable traits such as resistance to Papaya Ringspot Virus (PRSV), tolerance to drought and salinity, and enhanced fruit characteristics. Advances in molecular biology and biotechnological tools, including marker-assisted selection and CRISPR gene editing, have facilitated the transfer of beneficial traits from Vasconcellea to papaya. This review highlights genetic relationships, hybridization potential, and recent innovations in Vasconcellea utilization for crop resilience and productivity. Understanding and leveraging the genetic diversity of Vasconcellea spp. will be crucial in developing improved papaya cultivars with enhanced resistance, stress tolerance, and superior fruit quality.
Keywords: Crop Improvement, Genetics, plant stresses, Carica papaya, Vasconcellea spp
Received: 28 Apr 2025; Accepted: 17 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 K and M. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dhanyasree K, Department of Fruit Science, College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Thiruvananthapuram, India
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