<i>Agrobacterium</i>-Mediated Genome Modification for Improvement of Oil Palm Planting Materials

Oil palm is the most productive vegetable oil crop compared to other oil-bearing crops because it produces the highest oil yield per hectare. Palm oil is very versatile since it is used for producing food and beverages, personal care and cosmetics, cleaning products, biofuel, and bioenergy. To cater to the increasing demand in the global palm oil market, much research has been done to improve the oil's yield and modify its quality in addition to the oil palm height through breeding. Due to its long breeding cycle, oil palm planting materials have been improved using biotechnological approaches such as genetic engineering and genome editing. The ability to transform oil palm with high efficiency is the key to effect genome modification of the palm. The current oil palm transformation efficiency for <i>Agrobacterium</i>-mediated transformation is very low compared to other monocots such as rice, maize, and wheat. Over the last few decades, numerous studies have been conducted to enhance the transformation efficiency, providing a more reliable landscape for CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing. In this review, we discussed the progress made in oil palm genetic transformation, focusing on the <i>Agrobacterium</i>-mediated transformation, and outline possible strategies to enhance transformation and regeneration efficiencies. The progress and prospect of <i>Agrobacterium</i>-mediated CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing for improving oil palms agronomic traits, such as oil yield, plant height, fruit color, and resistance to resist biotic and abiotic stresses, were also discussed.