ABSTRACT
Genetic engineering is among the fastest adopted crop technologies in modern history with global hectarage increasing from 1.7 million in 1996 to 179.7 million in 2015 (James, 2015, ISAAA). Successful transformation of plant cells started with genes of bacterial origin (in 1983) involving academicians in the United States and Europe as well as biotechnology companies, including Monsanto (Bevan et al., 1983; Fraley et al., 1983; Hererra-Estrella et al., 1983; Murai et al., 1983). The first genetically engineered food with superior shelf life trait released in the market was the Flavr Savr tomato in 1994 (Kramer and Redenbaugh, 1994; Kramer et al., 1990, 1992). The standardized transformation protocols and ease of tissue culture for tomato led to genetic engineering for specialized traits and process development of a great number of new lines evidenced by 786 instances of notifications and permits for field trials between 1986 and 2016 (Virginia Tech University, 2016, Information Systems for Biotechnology).
