Abstract
Citrus fruits are mainly consumed as fresh fruit and processed juice products. They serve as nutritional and a tasty diet in our daily life. However, the formidable bitterness and delayed bitterness significantly impact the citrus industry attributable to the two major bitter compounds naringin and limonin. The extremely sour and acidic also negatively affects the sensory quality of citrus products. Citrus breeding programs have developed different strategies to improve citrus quality and a wealth of studies have aimed to uncover the genetic and biochemical basis of citrus flavor. In this minireview, we outline the major genes characterized to be involved in pathways shaping the sweet, bitter, or sour taste in citrus, and discuss briefly about the possible approaches to modify citrus taste by genetic engineering.
Highlights
It was suggested that the Citrus genus originated from the Malay Archipelago and Southeast Asia, and the varieties of edible citrus fruits on the market are generated by hybridizations of ancestral species, natural or artificial mutations, and human selection during domestication [1,2]
Sucrose is synthesized in leaves through photosynthesis and transported to citrus fruit, via a multiplayer-involved regulatory pathway
The content of titratable acid, mainly citric acid in the vacuole, delivers the sour taste and its import is greatly facilitated through the H+ gradient across the tonoplast
Summary
It was suggested that the Citrus genus originated from the Malay Archipelago and Southeast Asia, and the varieties of edible citrus fruits on the market are generated by hybridizations of ancestral species, natural or artificial mutations, and human selection during domestication [1,2]. The major ancestral species largely include mandarin (Citrus reticulata), pomelo (Citrus maxima), and citron (Citrus medica). The major hybrids as our common consumption include sweet orange (Citrus sinensis), bitter orange (Citrus aurantim), grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), lemon (Citrus limon), and limes [3]. Orange is a hybrid between pomelo and mandarin, and grapefruit is the product of a natural backcross of a sweet orange with a pomelo [4]. The original lemon is a hybrid of bitter orange and citron, while lime is highly diverse including several species. Ebrxetednsinivge stteucdhnieisquhaesveibnecelundpinergforcmroesds-tpooullnindaetriostna,ndsetlhf-e pcoitlrluinsafltiaovno, rs-ecloenctrioibnuotifnngaftaucrtaolrsmtuhtraotuiognhsboior cihnedmuciceadl manudtagteionnesti,caanpdprooactshteosck[7h,9y]b. rIind.thEixstreenvsiievwe, swtuedmieasinhlyavfeocubeseonn ptheerfuornmderdstatnodiunngdoefrsmtaonldecuthlaer bcaitsriussgoflvaevronri-ncgonctirtribuustsinwgeeftancetsosr,sbitthterornuegshs, bainodchseomuricnaelssa,npdrogveindeitnicg aapnporvoearcvhieesw[7o,f9t]h. eInptohtiesnrteiavlisefwo,r wgeenmetaicinmlyodfoificucastioonntohremunoldeecrusltaarn-adsisnigsteodf mbroeleedcuinlagrtobaimsispgroovveercnitirnugs coivtreursalslwtaesetetn. ess, bitterness, and sourness, providing an overview of the potentials for genetic modification or molecular-assisted breeding to improve citrus overall taste
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