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Constitutive expression of Arabidopsis LEAFY or APETALA1 genes in citrus reduces their generation time

Nature Biotechnology volume 19, pages 263–267 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Citrus trees have a long juvenile phase that delays their reproductive development by between 6 and 20 years, depending on the species. With the aim of accelerating their flowering time, we transformed juvenile citrus seedlings to constitutively express the Arabidopsis LEAFY (LFY) or APETALA1 (AP1) genes, which promote flower initiation in Arabidopsis. Both types of transgenic citrus produced fertile flowers and fruits as early as the first year, notably through a mechanism involving an appreciable shortening of their juvenile phase. Furthermore, expression of AP1 was as efficient as LFY in the initiation of flowers, and did not produce any severe developmental abnormality. Both types of transgenic trees flowered in consecutive years, and their flowering response was under environmental control. In addition, zygotic and nucellar derived transgenic seedlings had a very short juvenile phase and flowered in their first spring, demonstrating the stability and inheritance of this trait. These results open new possibilities for domestication, genetic improvement, and experimental research in citrus and other woody species.

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Figure 1: Overexpression of LEAFY in citrus transgenic plants.
Figure 2: Overexpression of APETALA1 in citrus transgenic plants.
Figure 3: Reduction of the juvenile phase in the progenies of 35S:AP1 and 35S:LFY transgenic citrus plants.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Detlef Weigel (Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA) and Marty Yanofsky (University of San Diego, CA) for the cDNA clones of LFY and AP1, respectively. We also thank Carlos Alonso, Pilar Cubas, José A. Jarillo, Ove Nilsson, and Javier Paz Ares, for critical reading of the manuscript, and Mercedes Romero, Antonio Navarro, Esperanza Rodríguez, and Adela Redondo for their technical assistance. This work was supported by grants SC97-102 from INIA and AGF98-206 from CICYT. Support to research activity at Centro Nacional de Biotecnología is provided through a specific agreement CSIC-INIA. M.M.T. was a recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from INIA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Protección Vegetal y Biotecnología, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, Moncada, 46113, Valencia, Spain

    Leandro Peña, José Juárez, José A. Pina & Luis Navarro

  2. Departamento de Mejora Genética y Biotecnología, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Ctra. de La Coruña km7, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Mar Martín-Trillo & José M. Martínez-Zapater

  3. Departamento de Genética Molecular de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Campus de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Mar Martín-Trillo & José M. Martínez-Zapater

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  1. Leandro Peña
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Correspondence to José M. Martínez-Zapater.

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Peña, L., Martín-Trillo, M., Juárez, J. et al. Constitutive expression of Arabidopsis LEAFY or APETALA1 genes in citrus reduces their generation time. Nat Biotechnol 19, 263–267 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/85719

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