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In plants, the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 ( CCD4) could target on plastoglobules and cleave specific carotenoids, producing apocarotenoids and volatile compounds. These compounds are important for color and aroma formation in fruits and flowers. In this study, five CCD4 gene members ( CCD4a, b, c, d, and e) were investigated in different citrus species including mandarin, pummelo, and sweet orange. Sequence analysis showed that the CCD4 genes from all the species examined exhibited extensive allelic variability (including SNPs and frame-shift mutations). Furthermore, the distribution of the CCD4 allelic mutation sites supported our previous hypothesis that the sweet orange originated from the hybridization of mandarin and pummelo. A derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (dCAPs) marker was then successfully developed based on the allelic polymorphism of CCD4c, providing an ideal molecular marker for studying the genetic relationship between citrus species. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis identified differential expression patterns for the CCD4 genes in tissues/organs, and CCD4b was shown to have a high-level expression in citrus fruit flavedos (especially those with a deep orange-reddish color). HPLC-based detection of a key component (i.e., β-citraurin) for orange-reddish flavedo formation in different citrus revealed a positive correlation between CCD4b expression levels and the presence of β-citraurin, suggesting that CCD4b may be responsible for β-citraurin biosynthesis in flavedo. In summary, this study not only reinforced the anticipated roles of CCD4 genes in flavedo color formation in citrus, but also provided new information about gene expression patterns, allelic polymorphism characteristics, and sequence variability for this gene subfamily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) genes are the largest class of disease resistance genes in plants. However, our understanding of the evolution of NBS-LRR genes in Rutaceae fruit crops is rather limited. We report an evolutionary study of 103 NBS-encoding genes isolated from Poncirus trifoliata (trifoliate orange), Citrus reticulata (tangerine) and their F progeny. In all, 58 of the sequences contained a continuous open reading frame. Phylogenetic analysis classified the 58 NBS genes into nine clades, eight of which were genus specific. This was taken to imply that most of the ancestors of these NBS genes evolved after the genus split. The motif pattern of the 58 NBS-encoding genes was consistent with their phylogenetic profile. An extended phylogenetic analysis, incorporating citrus NBS genes from the public database, classified 95 citrus NBS genes into six clades, half of which were genus specific. RFLP analysis showed that citrus NBS-encoding genes have been evolving rapidly, and that they are unstable when passed through an intergeneric cross. Of 32 NBS-encoding genes tracked by gene-specific PCR, 24 showed segregation distortion among a set of 94 F individuals. This study provides new insight into the evolution of Rutaceae NBS genes and their behaviour following an intergeneric cross. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]