Challenges and Opportunities in Genetic Improvement of Essential Oil-Bearing Damask Rose (Rosa damascena): A Review

Damask rose cultivated for essential oil production mainly used in perfume industry. Due to the highly perishable flowers, post-harvest handling of the flowers prior to oil extraction would be considered as a key point in rose essential oil production. Besides its major application in aroma and cosmetic industries, rose essential oil has been reported with valuable pharmacological properties such as antibacterial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities. Plant breeders are being encouraged to develop new damask rose cultivars with improved oil content and higher flower yield qualities due to rising market demand. The aforementioned qualities can be improved using traditional breeding methods such as clonal selection and intra-specific hybridization. But, through the convention breeding method creation of genetic variation is time taking, and the preservation of the authentic scent and quality of the rose oil is very difficult. Recent breakthroughs in molecular-markers techniques, genomics, and transcriptomics, have resulted in large volumes of data being generated in damask rose. Several attempts have been undertaken to accelerate the breeding of R.damascena using molecular technologies. However, due to the species' high heterozygosity and polyploidy nature, translating the findings of such studies to practical breeding remains a significant challenge. This review paper outlines recent advances in conventional and modern molecular breeding procedures, as well as their potential uses and limitations in improving the oil-bearing rose.