Citrus biotechnology

Agricultural crops that can better withstand the changing climatic and pathogen landscape have been produced through natural selection throughout the millennia and, in recent years, through the process of human-assisted plant breeding and selection. However, a lack of genetic diversity in many commercially cultivated crops (due to monoculture) has made them more vulnerable to biotic and abiotic stresses (Esquinas-Alcazar, 2005; Keneni et al., 2012). Citrus, belonging to the Rutaceae family, is one of the most important commercial woody fruit crops in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world. The origin of citrus is traced back to parts of tropical and subtropical Southeast Asia (Wu e…