BIOTECHNOLOGY OF ROSES: PROGRESS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Roses (Rosa spp.) are one of the most important flower crops in the world and have an economic value in ornamental, pharmaceutical and cosmetic trade. Significant progress has been made in biotechnology of roses due to its many potential and practical applications in commercial production and in breeding of roses. Rapid multiplication and production of disease-free plants in vitro have played a vital role in propagation of commercial rose cultivars. Genetic transformation is emerged as an alternative promising tool in rose breeding since it eliminates the difficulties associated with sexual hybridization such as lengthy breeding cycles, sterility, polyploidy and high level of heterozygosity. Biotechnology also allows chimeral segregation and can overcome some of the sterility problems through embryo rescue. In vitro seed germination protocols are ways to shorten breeding cycles and could be used to germinate the seeds that are not possible to germinate by other means. In this present review, the progress in regeneration, in vitro propagation, chimeral segregation, callus and protoplast culture, embryo rescue, in vitro germination, and genetic transformation of roses were discussed and the impact of biotechnology on rose breeding was evaluated. Keywords: Rose, tissue culture, genetic transformation, breeding.