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How candidate genes respond to aluminum toxicity in Citrus x limonia Osbeck?

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Abstract

In acidic soils, toxic aluminum (Al) inhibits root growth of sensitive species, including Citrus plants. In the Americas, rainfed Citrus plantations are highly dependent on unique rootstocks, such as the ‘Mandarin’ lime (Citrus x limonia Osbeck), which is tolerant to drought although sensitive to Al. It requires yearly lime application to grow on soils that are acidic (pH < 5.0) and rich in Al, especially in central and southeastern areas of Brazil. Despite this scenario, genes that are modulated by Al have not yet been searched in this species. Root apices of ‘Mandarin’ lime plants grown for 60 days in nutrient solutions either with 1480 μM Al3+ or 0 μM Al3+ were analyzed by RNA-seq, and differentially expressed candidate genes were validated by qRT-PCR. We highlight the transcriptional up-regulation of citrate synthase and citrate exudation by MATE (multidrug and toxic compound exudation) channels. Genes related to specialized metabolism, pectin methylesterification, auxin response, defense to biotic and abiotic stresses, cell division, suberin deposition, and nitrate uptake were also up-regulated by Al. The overview of up-regulated genes in ‘Mandarin’ lime not only validates its sensitivity to Al, but also points out targets for future research of Al resistance in this rootstock.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Sanicitrus Nursery (Araras, São Paulo state, Brazil) for providing us with the ‘Mandarin’ lime plants.

Funding

Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for financial support (#474169/2013–8 grant to GH) and a research fellowship (#307431/2020–7 grant to GH). São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp) for a PhD scholarship granted to CMS Silva (Fapesp #2013/11370–3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Vegetal), Departamento de Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Av. 24-A, 1515, Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil

    Carolina M. S. Silva

  2. Centro de P&D de Sanidade Vegetal, Laboratório de Bioquímica Fitopatológica, Instituto Biológico, Av. Conselheiro R. Alves, 1252, São Paulo, SP, 04014-002, Brazil

    Alexander Banguela-Castillo

  3. Departamento de Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Av. 24-A, 1515, Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil

    Douglas S. Domingues & Gustavo Habermann

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  1. Carolina M. S. Silva
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  2. Alexander Banguela-Castillo
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  3. Douglas S. Domingues
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  4. Gustavo Habermann
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Contributions

Conceived the idea and designed the experiment: CMSS and GH. Performed the experiments: CMSS. Analyzed data: CMSS, AB-C and DSD. Provided reagents, instruments, material, and analytical tools: GH and DSD. Wrote the manuscript: CMSS, DSD and GH.

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Correspondence to Gustavo Habermann.

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The authors declare no competing interests. G. Habermann is the Editor in Chief of TxPP and, when the manuscript was submitted, he was aware it was handled fairly by not being able to influence the editorial process of the submission, during any stage.

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Silva, C.M.S., Banguela-Castillo, A., Domingues, D.S. et al. How candidate genes respond to aluminum toxicity in Citrus x limonia Osbeck?. Theor. Exp. Plant Physiol. 34, 409–423 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40626-022-00253-1

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