CsABF3-activated CsSUT1 pathway is implicated in pre-harvest water deficit inducing sucrose accumulation in citrus fruit

Pre-harvest water deficit(PHWD)plays an important role in sugar accumulation of citrus fruit.However,the mechanism is not known well.Here,it was confirmed that PHWD promoted sucrose accumulation of citrus fruit,but had limited effect on fructose,glucose and total acid.A sucrose transporter,Cs SUT1,which localizes to the plasma membrane,was demonstrated to function in sucrose transport induced by PHWD.Compared to wild-type,Cs SUT1 overexpression in citrus calli stimulated sucrose,fructose and glucose accumulation,while its silencing in juice sacs reduced sucrose accumulation.Increased sugar accumulation in transgenic lines enhanced plant drought tolerance,and resulted in decreased electrolyte leakage,malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide contents,as well as increased superoxide dismutase activity and proline contents.An abscisic acid(ABA)-responsive transcription factor,Cs ABF3,was found with a same expression pattern with Cs SUT1 under PHWD.Yeast one-hybrid,electrophoretic mobility shift assay and dual-luciferase assays all revealed that Cs ABF3 directly bound with the Cs SUT1 promoter by ABA responsive elements.When Cs ABF3 was overexpressed in citrus calli,the sucrose,fructose and glucose concentration increased correspondingly.Further,transgenic studies demonstrated that Cs ABF3 could affect sucrose accumulation by regulating Cs SUT1.Overall,this study revealed a regulation of Cs ABF3 promoting Cs SUT1 expression and sucrose accumulation in response to PHWD.Our results provide a detail insight into the quality formation of citrus fruit.

Evaluation of parameters affecting Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression in citrus

Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression assays are a convenient alternative to stable expression because they are simple,easy to perform,and achieve gene expression rapidly.This study investigated the factors affecting transient gene expression efficiency in citrus by observing the cryo-sectioning of leaf samples under a laser confocal microscope.These factors included the composition of the infiltration buffer,the Agrobacterium cell density,the leaf development stage,the incubation temperature,and plant genotype.The highest transient expression level of yellow fluorescent protein（YFP）was detected in Mexican lime（Citrus aurantifolia）on the third day after the intermediate-aged leaves were infiltrated with the improved infiltration buffer 1（15 mmol L^-1 2-（N-morpholino）ethanesulfonic acid,10 mmol L^-1 MgCl2,and 200μmol L^-1acetosyringone）,which had an optical density of 0.8 and was incubated at 22°C.Additionally,this transient expression assay was applied to other citrus genotypes.Of note,trifoliate orange（Poncirus trifoliata）and kumquat（Fortunella obovate）had higher expression efficiency than other six genotypes of the Citrus genus.Our study provides research basis for the selection of optimization strategies in transient gene expression and improves the method for available genome investigation in citrus.

Molecular Detection and Characterization of Citrus Viroids

Total RNA was isolated from the phloem of young shoots and retro-transcripted to cDNA by reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） with specific primers; the amplified cDNA fragments were sequenced for identification of subtypes. In this study, an effective RT-PCR technique was established for detecting citrus viroids, and three citrus viroids were recognized, namely, CEVd, CVd-II, and CVd-III. The latter two were identified for the first time in China. The sequences of CVd-Ⅱ were different from all the three subtypes reported in the GenBank and seemed to be a new subtype. CVd-Ⅲb detected in the present study could be further developed as a dwarfing agent.