Genome editing against papaya ringspot virus in papaya (Carica papaya)
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Papaya (Carica papaya L.) was a tropical crop of nutritional and industrial importance whose productivity remained persistently constrained by papaya ringspot virus (PRSV). This review examined how domestication, genetic diversity, plant genetic resources, reproductive biology, and genome architecture shaped breeding against PRSV and assessed the editing of host susceptibility factors as an emerging strategy. A critical narrative review of articles indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar through September 2026 was conducted. The evidence showed that strong resistance was scarce within cultivated germplasm and that Vasconcellea species provided useful variation, although transfer was restricted by incompatibility, sterility, and linkage drag. Transgenic resistance demonstrated commercial effectiveness, but performance depended on the viral isolate and adoption faced regulatory and market barriers. T0 plants edited at eIF4E showed no detectable PRSV accumulation in a proof-of-concept study, whereas editing eIF(iso)4E did not prevent infection. Nevertheless, the evidence was limited to few lines, one isolate, and chimeric or heterozygous materials. Genome editing was therefore considered a plausible breeding route only when integrated with pangenomic information, characterization of local isolates, recovery of heritable lines without foreign DNA when applicable, and multi-environment phytopathological and agronomic evaluation. This approach was interpreted as complementary to germplasm conservation and integrated disease management rather than a replacement for them.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Chávez-Pesqueira, M., y Núñez-Farfán, J. (2017). Domestication and genetics of papaya: A review. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 5, 155. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fevo.2017.00155
Dornela, A. F., Soares, F. A. F., Silva, J. C., Sattler, M. C., y Clarindo, W. R. (2024). Carica papaya L. sex chromosome review and physical mapping of the serk 2, svp-like and mdar 4 sequences. Scientific Reports, 14, 14830. https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41598-024-65880-x
Favaratto, L., da Silva, M. L., Buss, D. S., Quadros, O. F., Tapia-Tussell, R., Ventura, J. A., Fernandes, A. A. R., y Fernandes, P. M. B. (2026). The regulatory frameworks surrounding CRISPR-edited papaya and their impact on international commerce. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 106(11), 6262-6270. https://doi. org/10.1002/jsfa.70478
Harini, V., Varanavasiappan, S., Arul, L., Kokiladevi, E., Sudhakar, D., Sooriyanathasundaram, K., y Kumar, K. K. (2019). Molecular characterization of eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E gene in PRSV resistant highland papaya. International Journal of Chemical Studies, 7(4), 411–415.
Hasley, J., Dinulong, R.-J., Adhikari, A., Christopher, D., y Tian, M. (2025). Genome editing of papaya using both Cas9 and Cas12a. Tropical Plant Biology, 18, 74. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s12042-025-09441-0
Le, N. T., Hoang, T. H. T., Tran, H. T., Bui, T. P., Phan, Q., Chu, H. H., Fei, Y., Mason, R. O., Molnar, A., y Do, P. T. (2026). Enhancing papaya resistance to ringspot virus through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing of eIF4E. Frontiers in Plant Science, 17, 1799408. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2026.1799408
Medina-Salguero, A. X., Cornejo-Franco, J. F., Grinstead, S., Mowery, J., Mollov, D., y Quito-Avila, D. F. (2021). Genetic characterization of a mild isolate of papaya ringspot virus type-P and assessment of its cross-protection potential under greenhouse and field conditions. PLOS ONE, 16(2), e0241652. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0241652
Ming, R., Hou, S., Feng, Y., Yu, Q., Dionne-Laporte, A., Saw, J. H., Senin, P., Wang, W., Ly, B. V., Lewis, K. L. T., Salzberg, S. L., Feng, L., Jones, M. R., Skelton, R. L., Murray, J. E., Chen, C., Qian, W., Shen, J., Du, P., … Alam, M. (2008). The draft genome of the transgenic tropical fruit tree papaya (Carica papaya Linnaeus). Nature, 452, 991–996. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06856
Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería. (2023). Acuerdo Ministerial No. 063: Guía técnica para el uso de semillas o cultivos obtenidos mediante técnicas de mejoramiento de precisión. Registro Oficial No. 479, 17 de enero de 2024. https://faolex.fao.org/ docs/pdf/ecu223895.pdf
O’Brien, C. M., y Drew, R. A. (2010). Marker-assisted hybridisation and backcrossing between Vasconcellea species and Carica papaya for PRSV-P resistance. Acta Horticulturae, 859, 361-368. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.859.43
Shopan, J., Lv, X., Hu, Z., Zhang, M., y Yang, J. (2020). Eukaryotic translation initiation factors shape RNA virus resistance in plants. Horticultural Plant Journal, 6, 81-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2020.03.001
Tennant, P., Fermin, G., Fitch, M. M., Manshardt, R. M., Slightom, J. L., y Gonsalves, D. (2001). Papaya ringspot virus resistance of transgenic Rainbow and SunUp is affected by gene dosage, plant development, and coat protein homology. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 107, 645-653. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017936226557
Tripathi, S., Suzuki, J. Y., Ferreira, S. A., y Gonsalves, D. (2008). Papaya ringspot virus-P: Characteristics, pathogenicity, sequence variability and control. Molecular Plant Pathology, 9(3), 269-280. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1364-3703.2008.00467.x
Wang, B., Cao, X., Lin, Z., Zhuang, Y., Yang, G., Zhu, J.-K., Ming, R., y Yue, J. (2026). Establishing efficient multi-gene editing tools for papaya. Horticulture Research, 13(5), uhag049. https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhag049
Wang, J., Na, J.-K., Yu, Q., Gschwend, A. R., Han, J., Zeng, F., Aryal, R., VanBuren, R., Murray, J. E., Zhang, W., Navajas-Pérez, R., Feltus, F. A., Lemke, C., Tong, E. J., Chen, C., Wai, C. M., Singh, R., Wang, M.-L., Min, X. J., … Ming, R. (2012). Sequencing papaya X and Y-h chromosomes reveals molecular basis of incipient sex chromosome evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(34), 13710–13715. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1207833109
Wu, Z., Mo, C., Zhang, S., y Li, H. (2018). Characterization of papaya ringspot virus isolates infecting transgenic papaya ‘Huanong No. 1’ in South China. Scientific Reports, 8, 8206. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-26596-x
Xiang, T., Zhu, Y., Wang, Y., Chen, X., Zhang, Z., Lai, J., Zhou, P., Ming, R., y Yue, J. (2025). The dynamic regulatory network of stamens and pistils in papaya. BMC Plant Biology, 25, 254. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06242-1
Yang, M., Kong, X., Zhou, C., Kuang, R., Wu, X., Liu, C., He, H., Xu, Z., y Wei, Y. (2025). Genomic insights into the domestication and genetic basis of yield in papaya. Horticulture Research, 12(5), uhaf045. https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhaf045
Yang, M., Zhou, C., Kong, X., Kuang, R., Liu, C., Wu, X., Xu, Z., He, H., y Wei, Y. (2026). The pangenome enhances the understanding of the genetic diversity of papaya. Horticulture Research, 13(2), uhaf282. https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhaf282
Yue, J., Liu, J., Zeng, Q., Wai, C. M., Deng, B., Tong, Y., Zuo, L., Xiang, T., Xie, W., Zhao, X., Lai, J., Liao, J., Lai, Q., Xu, L., Zhu, Y., He, J., Zhang, M., Nie, S., Lin, Z., … Ming, R. (2026). Recreating viable YYh genotype uncovers the role of CpYYL underlying YY lethality in papaya. Nature Communications, 17, 1999. https://doi. org/10.1038/s41467-026-68627-6