Tea Plant Genetic Transformation and Gene Function Research Techniques

Tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) is one of the most important economic crops in places such as China, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. The lack of efficient genetic transformation systems is one of the biggest obstacles to tea plant biological study. Many researchers have been committed to the research of tea regeneration and genetic transformation technology for a long time and have made remarkable progress. However, there are still many technical difficulties to be solved in this field. With gene editing and VIGS (virus-induced gene silencing) technology being used in many crops, tea plant applications are focused and have begun. In this study, the progress of tea plant genetic transformation and gene function research techniques are reviewed, and the existing challenges and future breakthroughs are considered and prospected.