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Biosynthesis and Contents of Gibberellins in Seeded and Seedless Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) Cultivars

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Abstract

In this work, we study the capacity to biosynthesize gibberellins (GA) of ovules (either fertilised or unfertilised), developing seeds and pericarp from fruitlets and their relation with fruit set capacity. Experiments were performed in adult, 12-year-old trees of seeded (Pineapple) and seedless parthenocarpic (Washington navel) sweet orange [Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck] cultivars. The activity of GA20-, GA3- and GA2-oxidases and gibberellin levels were measured in the ovules and pericarp of fruitlets in different development states. The results indicate that ovules are the main sites of gibberellin synthesis in fruitlets during the post-anthesis period. The most intense GA1 synthesis—coincident with the highest expression of GA20ox2, GA3ox1 and GA2ox1—was detected in the ovules of the seeded cultivar, probably induced by fecundation and associated with low early fruitlet abscission rates. By contrast, the low activity detected in the sterile cultivar appears to be rather developmentally or constitutively regulated. As a fruitlet develops, the GA1 concentration is augmented in the pericarp in comparison to ovules or developing seeds, and levels therein did not exhibit noticeable differences between varieties. Furthermore, developing seeds from pineapple had higher GA1 content than the unfertilised abortive ovules from Washington navel. Taken together, data suggest a main role for this hormone in the control of fruitlet abscission, and also demonstrate a function in seed development.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. Isabel Lopez-Diaz and Esther Carrera for the hormone quantification carried out at the Plant Hormone Quantification Service, IBMCP, Valencia, Spain. Thanks are due to Teresa Sabater from the IBMCP, for their help. This work has been supported by two research projects, RTA2013-00024-CO2-01 from INIA (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain) and IVIA-5423 from Consellería de Agricultura (Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Citricultura y Producción Vegetal, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, crta Moncada-Náquera, km 4,5, Moncada, 46113, Valencia, Spain

    Almudena Bermejo, Belén Martínez-Alcántara, Mary-Rus Martínez-Cuenca, Eduardo Primo-Millo & Domingo J. Iglesias

  2. Instituto Agroforestal Mediterráneo, Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, 46002, Valencia, Spain

    Roberto Yuste, Carlos Mesejo, Carmina Reig & Manuel Agustí

Authors
  1. Almudena Bermejo
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  2. Belén Martínez-Alcántara
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  3. Mary-Rus Martínez-Cuenca
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  4. Roberto Yuste
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  5. Carlos Mesejo
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  6. Carmina Reig
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  7. Manuel Agustí
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  8. Eduardo Primo-Millo
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  9. Domingo J. Iglesias
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Correspondence to Almudena Bermejo or Domingo J. Iglesias.

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Bermejo, A., Martínez-Alcántara, B., Martínez-Cuenca, MR. et al. Biosynthesis and Contents of Gibberellins in Seeded and Seedless Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) Cultivars. J Plant Growth Regul 35, 1036–1048 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-016-9602-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-016-9602-5

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