Origin of C. latifolia and C. aurantiifolia triploid limes: the preferential disomic inheritance of doubled-diploid 'Mexican' lime is consistent with an interploid hybridization hypothesis.

Background and Aims: Two main types of triploid limes are produced worldwide. The 'Tahiti' lime type (Citrus latifolia) is predominant, while the 'Tanepao' type (C. aurantiifolia) is produced to a lesser extent. Both types result from natural interspecific hybridization involving a diploid gamete of C. aurantiifolia 'Mexican' lime type (itself a direct interspecific C. micrantha × C. medica hybrid). The meiotic behaviour of a doubled-diploid 'Mexican' lime, the interspecific micrantha/medica recombination and the resulting diploid gamete structures were analysed to investigate the possibility that 'Tahiti' and 'Tanepao' varieties are derived from natural interploid hybridization. Methods: A population of 85 tetraploid hybrids was established between a doubled-diploid clementine and a doubled-diploid 'Mexican' lime and used to infer the genotypes of 'Mexican' lime diploid gametes. Meiotic behaviour was studied through combined segregation analysis of 35 simple sequenbce repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphismn (SNP) markers covering the nine citrus chromosomes and cytogenetic studies. It was supplemented by pollen viability assessment. Key Results: Pollen viability of the doubled-diploid Mexican lime (64 %) was much higher than that of the diploid. On average, 65 % of the chromosomes paired as bivalents and 31.4 % as tetravalents. Parental heterozygosity restitution ranged from 83 to 99 %. Disomic inheritance with high preferential pairing values was deduced for three chromosomes. Intermediate inheritances, with disomic trend, were found for five chromosomes, and an intermediate inheritance was observed for one chromosome. The average effective interspecific recombination rate was low (1.2 cM Mb-1). Conclusion: The doubled-diploid 'Mexican' lime had predominantly disomic segregation, producing interspecific diploid gamete structures with high C. medica/C. micrantha heterozygosity, compatible with the phylogenomic structures of triploid C. latifolia and C. aurantiifolia varieties. This disomic trend limits effective interspecific recombination and diversity of the diploid gamete population. Interploid reconstruction breeding using doubled-diploid lime as one parent is a promising approach for triploid lime diversification.

Multilocus half-tetrad analysis and centromere mapping in citrus: evidence of SDR mechanism for 2n megagametophyte production and partial chiasma interference in mandarin cv 'Fortune'.

The genetic structure of 2n gametes and, particularly, the parental heterozygosity restitution at each locus depends on the meiotic process by which they originated, with first-division restitution and second-division restitution (SDR) being the two major mechanisms. The origin of 2n gametes in citrus is still controversial, although sexual polyploidisation is widely used for triploid seedless cultivar development. In this study, we report the analysis of 2n gametes of mandarin cv 'Fortune' by genotyping 171 triploid hybrids with 35 simple sequence repeat markers. The microsatellite DNA allele counting-peak ratios method for allele-dosage evaluation proved highly efficient in segregating triploid progenies and allowed half-tetrad analysis (HTA) by inferring the 2n gamete allelic configuration. All 2n gametes arose from the female genitor. The observed maternal heterozygosity restitution varied between 10 and 82%, depending on the locus, thus SDR appears to be the mechanism underlying 2n gamete production in mandarin cv 'Fortune'. A new method to locate the centromere, based on the best fit between observed heterozygosity restitution within a linkage group and theoretical functions under either partial or no chiasmata interference hypotheses was successfully applied to linkage group II. The maximum value of heterozygosity restitution and the pattern of restitution along this linkage group would suggest there is partial chiasma interference. The implications of such a restitution mechanism for citrus breeding are discussed.

Comparative analysis of proteome changes induced by the two spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae and methyl jasmonate in citrus leaves.

Citrus plants are currently facing biotic and abiotic stresses. Therefore, the characterization of molecular traits involved in the response mechanisms to stress could facilitate selection of resistant varieties. Although large cDNA microarray profiling has been generated in citrus tissues, the available protein expression data are scarce. In this study, to identify differentially expressed proteins in Citrus clementina leaves after infestation by the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae, a proteome comparison was undertaken using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The citrus leaf proteome profile was also compared with that of leaves treated over 0-72h with methyl jasmonate, a compound playing a key role in the defense mechanisms of plants to insect/arthropod attack. Significant variations were observed for 110 protein spots after spider mite infestation and 67 protein spots after MeJA treatments. Of these, 50 proteins were successfully identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-tandem mass spectrometry. The majority constituted photosynthesis- and metabolism-related proteins. Five were oxidative stress associated enzymes, including phospholipid glutathione peroxidase, a salt stressed associated protein, ascorbate peroxidase and Mn-superoxide dismutase. Seven were defense-related proteins, such as the pathogenesis-related acidic chitinase, the protease inhibitor miraculin-like protein, and a lectin-like protein. This is the first report of differentially regulated proteins after T. urticae attack and exogenous MeJA application in citrus leaves.

Non-additive gene regulation in a citrus allotetraploid somatic hybrid between C. reticulata Blanco and C. limon (L.) Burm.

Polyploid plants often produce new phenotypes, exceeding the range of variability existing in the diploid gene pool. Several hundred citrus allotetraploid hybrids have been created by somatic hybridization. These genotypes are interesting models to study the immediate effects of allopolyploidization on the regulation of gene expression. Here, we report genome-wide gene expression analysis in fruit pulp of a Citrus interspecific somatic allotetraploid between C. reticulata cv 'Willowleaf mandarin'+C. limon cv 'Eureka lemon', using a Citrus 20K cDNA microarray. Around 4% transcriptome divergence was observed between the two parental species, and 212 and 160 genes were more highly expressed in C. reticulata and C. limon, respectively. Differential expression of certain genes was confirmed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. A global downregulation of the allotetraploid hybrid transcriptome was observed, as compared with a theoretical mid parent, for the genes displaying interspecific expression divergence between C. reticulata and C. limon. The genes underexpressed in mandarin, as compared with lemon, were also systematically repressed in the allotetraploid. When genes were overexpressed in C. reticulata compared with C. limon, the distribution of allotetraploid gene expression was far more balanced. Cluster analysis on the basis of gene expression clearly indicated the hybrid was much closer to C. reticulata than to C. limon. These results suggest there is a global dominance of the mandarin transcriptome, in consistence with our previous studies on aromatic compounds and proteomics. Interspecific differentiation of gene expression and non-additive gene regulation involved various biological pathways and different cellular components.

Characterization of microsatellite markers in mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata Blanco).

A dinucleotide-enriched genomic library was obtained from mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata Blanco). A subset of 101 positive clones was sequenced and primers were designed. The loci were screened for levels of variation using 26-29 wild mandarin oranges collected in Vietnam. Forty-three loci were polymorphic with the number of alleles ranging from two to 18. The observed heterozygosity (H(O) ) and expected heterozygosity (H(E) ) were from 0.03 to 0.96 and from 0.03 to 0.92, respectively.