3rd Edition Of Plant Science and Molecular Biology World Conference 2026

Abstract

Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. var. comosus) is the most economically important species of the Bromeliaceae family; however, its production is significantly affected by biotic and abiotic factors. Therefore, there is a need to develop improved cultivars that are safe and biologically similar to commercial cultivars. This research focused on the characterization of transgenic pineapple plants in third and fourth generations of field growth. Plants of the cultivar ‘Cayena Lisa Serrana’ were used: (1) control plants from conventional vegetative propagation, (2) micropropagated control plants, and (3) transgenic plants carrying the chitinase, Ap24, and bar genes (line 90). Physiological and biochemical indicators of the phenotype corresponding to the third and fourth vegetative generations were evaluated, and the presence of the bar gene was confirmed by PCR. Of the 160 traits evaluated, significant differences were observed between the transgenic plants and conventionally vegetatively propagated plants in 88, while differences were observed between the transgenic plants and the micropropagated plants in 70. In the other tests performed, the transgenic plants did not show significant differences compared to their controls. Overall, the phenotype of the transgenic plants matched the phenotype of the control plants. These data are consistent and useful for characterizing the modified plants, which maintain the integration of the bar gene into their genome after four generations of field growth. Therefore, the methodology allows for the detection of events with the fewest changes compared to commercial plants.