Zhen Li , Zhonggang  Li

Tropical Specialty Crops Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
Molecular Plant Breeding, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 3   doi: 10.5376/mpb.2025.16.0020
Received: 20 May, 2025    Accepted: 22 Jun., 2025    Published: 30 Jun., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Li Z., and Li Z.G., 2025, Improving the fruit flavor of golden pitaya through gene editing: applications of CRISPR/Cas9 in metabolic pathways, Molecular Plant Breeding, 16(3): 202-210 (doi: 10.5376/mpb.2025.16.0020)

This study analyzed the current status and application prospects of gene editing technology in improving the flavor of tropical fruit bird's nest fruit (golden pitaya, Selenicereus megalanthus). This study analyzed the flavor composition and metabolic pathways of bird's nest fruit, including the accumulation mechanism of key substances such as sugars, organic acids and aromatic volatiles, and discussed the key gene selection strategies that affect flavor, such as enzymes and inhibitors that regulate sugar accumulation, genes that control organic acid synthesis and transportation, and pathway enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of aromatic substances. The application strategies of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in flavor improvement are mainly introduced, including targeted gene knockout to increase sugar content and reduce acidity, metabolic pathway reprogramming to increase the content of aromatic substances, and multi-gene editing to achieve comprehensive improvement of flavor. At the same time, the latest progress in fruit flavor improvement at home and abroad is outlined, such as the simultaneous editing of multiple genes in tomatoes to significantly increase the soluble sugar content, the identification and functional verification of aroma regulatory genes in fruits such as strawberries, etc., and based on this, the feasibility and potential effect of flavor improvement of bird's nest fruit through gene editing are prospected. The targeted flavor improvement of bird’s nest fruit provides new ideas and new ways for tropical fruit breeding and industrial upgrading.

Golden pitaya; Fruit flavor; Metabolic pathway; Gene editing; CRISPR/Cas9