Post by Ismail AbdulAzeez on Aug 15, 2019 22:01:06 GMT 1
Citrus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes.
Citrus Sourness
Most citrus fruits are known for their face-puckering sour taste. Now scientists have uncovered the mysterious genes behind citrus acidity and new findings that could help farmers breed sweeter oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit and other citrus fruit.
More citruses are now grown than any other kind of fruit worldwide. These type of fruits are known for their acidity. It was long a mystery how citrus vacuoles became extremely acidic.
The sour taste of a fruit depends on compartments within plant cells known as vacuoles, which are acidic because positively charged hydrogen ions (essentially, protons) get pumped into them.
In most plant species, these vacuoles are only mildly acidic compared to the rest of the cell’s innards.
Geneticists at the University of Amsterdam, found mutant versions of genes known as PH1 and PH5 could alter the color of the flowers by hyperacidifying their petals.
These genes produced molecules known as P-ATPases on the membranes of the vacuoles, increasing the number of protons that are pumped into the compartments.
Versions of these genes are found not only widely across flowering plants, but also in plants without flowers at all.
The widespread nature of these acidity genes suggested they might play major acidic roles in citrus fruits. This spurred the scientists to explore whether they might be responsible for the acidic taste of citruses.
The researchers investigated CitPH1 and CitPH5, the citrus versions of these petunia genes. The researchers found these genes were highly active in sour lemons, oranges, pomelos and rangpur limes, but much less active in sweet-tasting “acidless” varieties of citrus.
This is indeed an exciting discovery!
Bearing Better Fruit
These findings could help facilitate the breeding of new varieties of fruit. By analyzing the DNA of young saplings, breeders may one day predict the sweetness or sourness of their fruit, many years before the trees starts bearing fruit that one could examine for acidity or taste in the conventional way.
Citrus Sourness
Most citrus fruits are known for their face-puckering sour taste. Now scientists have uncovered the mysterious genes behind citrus acidity and new findings that could help farmers breed sweeter oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit and other citrus fruit.
More citruses are now grown than any other kind of fruit worldwide. These type of fruits are known for their acidity. It was long a mystery how citrus vacuoles became extremely acidic.
The sour taste of a fruit depends on compartments within plant cells known as vacuoles, which are acidic because positively charged hydrogen ions (essentially, protons) get pumped into them.
In most plant species, these vacuoles are only mildly acidic compared to the rest of the cell’s innards.
Geneticists at the University of Amsterdam, found mutant versions of genes known as PH1 and PH5 could alter the color of the flowers by hyperacidifying their petals.
These genes produced molecules known as P-ATPases on the membranes of the vacuoles, increasing the number of protons that are pumped into the compartments.
Versions of these genes are found not only widely across flowering plants, but also in plants without flowers at all.
The widespread nature of these acidity genes suggested they might play major acidic roles in citrus fruits. This spurred the scientists to explore whether they might be responsible for the acidic taste of citruses.
The researchers investigated CitPH1 and CitPH5, the citrus versions of these petunia genes. The researchers found these genes were highly active in sour lemons, oranges, pomelos and rangpur limes, but much less active in sweet-tasting “acidless” varieties of citrus.
This is indeed an exciting discovery!
Bearing Better Fruit
These findings could help facilitate the breeding of new varieties of fruit. By analyzing the DNA of young saplings, breeders may one day predict the sweetness or sourness of their fruit, many years before the trees starts bearing fruit that one could examine for acidity or taste in the conventional way.