Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Serene Cheng Sciences

Advancing Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation and Regeneration of Cayenne Pepper

Scholars Journal

While hunger rates decline globally, they are rising in Africa and western Asia. As Asia and Africa are the world leaders in pepper production, this crop serves a crucial role as these continents address food insecurity. Pepper is vulnerable to many bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases, and crop productivity is deeply impacted by temperature extremes. Crop engineering can be used to improve pepper’s resilience and yield, however advancements have been hindered by difficulties in tissue culture. I am developing a robust transformation and regeneration protocol for cayenne pepper to pair with virus-induced gene editing, which would eliminate the need for tissue culture following the establishment of Cas9-expressing lines. This technology can expedite efforts to improve pepper’s nutritional and agricultural qualities, with the goal of strengthening food and economic security.