Exploring pioneering efforts in tea breeding and genetic transformation and designing driving innovative strategies for better brewing

Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world, following water. It is known for its aromatic allure, sense of refreshment, medicinal values and also nutritional properties, including antioxidants, anti-ageing, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial nature. Tea breeding plays a pivotal role in the development of superior lines which can thrive in wider environmental conditions. However, conventional methods met with limited success, biotechnological interventions have shown their potential to evolve superior cultivars within a short span of time. Plant tissue culture technology allows for in vitro propagation that enables mass multiplication of uniform, elite clones with desirable traits besides serving as basic requirement for all the transgenic endeavours. Advances in omics technologies, coupled with advanced bioinformatics pipelines have led to the elucidation of key genes driving molecular events that confer increased tea yield and quality. Genetic transformation mediated by Agrobacterium, particle bombardment, and CRISPR-Cas9 facilitate the production of transgenic tea with desirable traits. Inter-disciplinary collaboration among breeders, geneticists, agronomists and biotechnologists holds great promise in addressing the demands of consumers and overcoming the existing and emerging challenges posed by varied biotic and abiotic stress.