University of Duhok

College of science
Biology department

Plant biotechnology for

crop improvement
Presented by: Issra Ziyad Younis, Arin
Supervised by:
Out lines
 What is Biotechnology
• Biotechnology is defined as a set of tools that uses
living organisms (or parts of organisms) to make or
modify a product, improve plants, trees or animals, or
develop microorganisms for specific uses.

• Plant biotechnology is the term used in crop and

livestock improvement through biotechnology tools.
 Why Plant Biotechnology?
1. It produces new crops
2. Pest and disease resistance.
3. Climate-proofing crops for extreme weather
events.
4. Reducing food waste.
5. Increased nutritional traits.
6. reduced dependence on fertilizers.
7. improved taste.
 Crop improvement techniques
1. Traditional breeding
Cross breading mates two sexually compatible species
to create a new and special variety with the desired
traits of the parents.
 Crop improvement techniques
2. Mutagenesis
is the process of exposing seeds to chemicals, radiation,
or enzymes in order to generate mutants with desirable
traits to be bred with other cultivars.

C. maxima C. sinensis Citrus paradisi

 Atomic gardens
Gamma gardens are a type of induced mutation
breeding where radioactive sources used to induce
desirable mutations in crop plants.
 Crop improvement techniques
3. Protoplast fusion

During fusion, two or more

protoplasts come in contact
and adhere with one another
to transfer traits between
species.
 Crop improvement techniques
4. Polyploidy
the condition in which a normally diploid cell or
organism acquires one or more additional sets
of chromosomes. known to give rise to different species
of wild and cultivable species.

Flowers bigger Fruits Bigger

Normal strawberry VS Polyploidy strawberry
 Crop improvement techniques
5. Transgenics
• Are crops, whose DNA is modified using genetic
engineering techniques.
• The inserted genes.
• The main advantages of transgenic plants
include larger yield, resistance to diseases and pests
and capable of growing under stressful conditions,
creating vaccines.
An example of transgenics is the rainbow
papaya, which is modified with a gene that gives
it resistance to the papaya ring spot virus .

Papaya infected by ring spot Transgenic rainbow papaya

virus
 Crop improvement techniques
6. Genome editing
• Is a type of genetic engineering in which DNA is
inserted, deleted, modified or replaced in the genome
of a living organism.
• It can be used to silence undesirable genes in crops.
For example…

• most commonly used gene-

editing approach in labs is the
CRISPR/Cas9 system.

• Genome editing is predicted to

help plant breeders develop
crops.
 Effect on
'non-target
species

Insecticide
Gene Escape
Resistance

disadvantages
Loss of
Allergens
Biodiversity
and Toxins
in Organisms

Suicide seeds
Thank you for your attention
Any quistion?