Biotechnology applied to the genetic improvement of citrus rootstocksdevelopment of a protocol for micropropagation and adventitious regeneration for use in generating salt toleran mutant lines= Biotecnología aplicada a la mejora genética de patrones de cítricos: puesta a punto de un protocolo de micropropagación y re

Resumo

Abstract. Citrus fruits are regarded as the major culture around the world, but citrus production is limited by abiotic stress. Among them, salinity is probably the most impacting adverse condition, mainly in arid and semiarid regions, where citrus are produced. The improvement of Citrus rootstock via conventional breeding strategies is normally hampered by several factors related to their reproductive biology, such as large tree size, polyembryony, high level of heterozygosity, and long juvenile period. As alternatives, biotechnological techniques, such as plant tissue culture in combination with mutagenesis, should be looked on as valuable strategies for improvement of Citrus rootstocks. In the present work, has been developed a simple and useful methods of micropropagation from mature plants of alemow, Sour orange and Cleopatra mandarin, by optimization of culture medium (nutrients salts and growth regulators), since introduction of plant material, multiplication and rooting in vitro to acclimatization ex vitro. In general, although differences due to the genotype were observed, in all rootstocks, best results in micropropagation phase were obtained in DKW-based culture medium in combination with BA and GA. In the rooting stage, IBA and IAA combinations for alemow, and NAA and IBA for Cleopatra mandarin or Sour orange produced highest rooting percentages. Success during acclimatization was close to 100 % for all rootstocks. These micropropagated explants could be used for the production of certified citrus rootstocks plants and as an ideal source of aseptic and homogeneous material for different transformation or mutagenesis experiments, and the protocol of micropropagation described in this study can be easily applied for the effective propagation of genetically modified plants. Evaluating field performance crops under saline conditions is notoriously difficult because of the variability of salinity within fields and the enormous potential for interactions with other environmental factors. In vitro tissue culture is a simple system that offers a suitable alternative to studying physiological mechanisms of tolerance to salinity, since it provides relatively fast responses, a short generation time and a controlled environment. In the present study, the possible use of in vitro culture to evaluate the growth and physiological responses to salt-induced stress in cultivated explants of alemow was analyzed. All growth parameters were decreased significantly by these NaCl treatments. At physiological level, in both type of explants, a reduction in chorophyll contents was observed. For osmotic adjustment, high concentrations of compatible solutes (proline and quaternary ammonium compounds QAC) were accumulated in tissues. The Na+ and Cl- concentrations in the explants increased significantly with the salinity level, but Cl- levels were higher, so we suggest that the important deleterious effects in the in vitro explants of Citrus macrophylla grown at increasing NaCl concentrations were due mainly to toxic effects of saline ions, particularly Cl-, at the cellular level. There is evidence that in vitro nodal segments of Citrus macrophylla respond to salinity in a similar way to the whole plant, so this technique could be used for pre-selection and evaluation of salt tolerance. An efficient system of regeneration via organogenesis is the first step in the successful introduction of genetic variation by mutagenesis or genetic transformation. In the present study, we have evaluated the effect of the composition of culture media, incubation conditions, and explant type and origin, on in vitro organogenesis of two citrus rootstocks, alemow and sour orange, using mature tissues taken from in vitro-proliferated shoots. Explants from two citrus rootstocks showed similar responses on the regeneration medium. Best results were obtained when explants from apical shoots were used and cultured in darkness in DKW basal medium in combination with BA. This regeneration protocol could be integrated in a Citrus rootstocks salinity breeding program.