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Reproductive Biology Factors Hampering Lemon [ Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.] Genetic Improvement

Author

Listed:
  • Chiara Catalano

    (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, Italy
    These authors equally contributed to the work.)

  • Giuseppina Las Casas

    (CREA, Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Italy
    These authors equally contributed to the work.)

  • Alessio Giuffrida

    (CREA, Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Italy)

  • Filippo Ferlito

    (CREA, Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Italy)

  • Mario Di Guardo

    (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, Italy)

  • Alberto Continella

    (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, Italy)

  • Stefania Bennici

    (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, Italy)

  • Stefano La Malfa

    (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, Italy)

  • Alessandra Gentile

    (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, Italy)

  • Gaetano Distefano

    (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, Italy)

Abstract

Background: Floral sterility and nucellar embryony are peculiar traits of several Citrus species and represent an obstacle to traditional breeding. Morphological sterility mainly results in pistil abortion and anther atrophy, while polyembryony is due to a mechanism known as sporophytic apomixis, which consists of the presence of embryos in the seed generated from the nucellar (maternal) tissue alongside the zygotic embryo (sexual origin). Considering the growing interest in lemon [ Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.] breeding, and the lack of information on floral sterility and the polyembryony trait among different lemon cultivars, a morphological and molecular characterization of these traits of interest was performed on forty Sicilian and international lemon cultivars available in the citrus germplasm collection of Catania University (Italy). Methods: Eight traits related to the reproductive biology were assessed on the selected lemon cultivars, namely: pistil abortion and anther atrophy, number of seeds per fruit, number of embryos per seed, percentage of seeds showing polyembryony, germination, percentage of seeds resulting in more than one plantlet, and average seed weight. Moreover, seedlings recovered after the germination assay were genotyped with SNP and SSR markers for ascertaining their nucellar or zygotic origin. In addition, PCR analysis were performed to assess the allele combination of the miniature inverted-repeat transposable element (MITE) insertion in CitRKD1, a gene associated with the occurrence of apomixis in citrus. Results: All traits showed high variability among the accessions analyzed. As for polyembryony, lemon ‘Adamopoulos’ scored the highest percentage of polyembryonic seeds (67.6%), whilst lemon ‘Lunario’ showed the lowest value (8.7%). Conclusions: Insights on the level of polyembryony within lemon varieties will represent a valuable tool for breeders for the set-up of novel mating schemes. In fact, when a polyembryonic female parent is used in cross breeding, the selection of the zygotic individual is hampered by the presence of a nucellar one.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara Catalano & Giuseppina Las Casas & Alessio Giuffrida & Filippo Ferlito & Mario Di Guardo & Alberto Continella & Stefania Bennici & Stefano La Malfa & Alessandra Gentile & Gaetano Distefano, 2022. "Reproductive Biology Factors Hampering Lemon [ Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.] Genetic Improvement," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-15, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:12:p:2020-:d:985273
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guohong Albert Wu & Javier Terol & Victoria Ibanez & Antonio López-García & Estela Pérez-Román & Carles Borredá & Concha Domingo & Francisco R. Tadeo & Jose Carbonell-Caballero & Roberto Alonso & Fran, 2018. "Genomics of the origin and evolution of Citrus," Nature, Nature, vol. 554(7692), pages 311-316, February.
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