Abstract
Phosphorus (P) is one of the three macronutrients for plants. Because of its low mobility and high fixation in soils, low P availability is a worldwide constraint for crop productivity. Molecular biology provides great opportunities to improve P efficiency in plants. However, transgenic plants cannot be commercialized before integrating all the knowledge on bottlenecks for improving P efficiency of crops/pastures. This review intends to summarize the main strategies of bioengineering to improve P efficiency of crops/pastures, including conventional and molecular assisted breeding, identification and application of key genes for biotech plants. It highlights recent advances in the understanding of improving P efficiency through the integration of bioengineering with P fertilization and cultivation management.
