Shaping the biology of citrus: II. Genomic determinants of domestication.

Abstract

We performed genomic analyses on species and varieties of the genus Citrus to identify several determinants of domestication, based on the pattern of pummelo [Citrus maxima (Burr. f) Merr] and mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) admixture into the ancestral genome, as well as population genetic tests at smaller scales. Domestication impacted gene families regulating pivotal components of citrus flavor (such as acidity) because in edible mandarin varieties, chromosome areas with negative Tajimas values were enriched with genes associated with the regulation of citric acid. Detection of sweeps in edible mandarins that diverged from wild relatives indicated that domestication reduced chemical defenses involving cyanogenesis and alkaloid synthesis, thus increasing palatability. Also, a cluster of SAUR genes in domesticated mandarins derived from the pummelo genome appears to contain candidate genes controlling fruit size. Similarly, conserved stretches of pure mandarin areas were likely important as well for domestication, as, for example, a fragment in chromosome 1 that is involved in the apomictic reproduction of most edible mandarins. Interestingly, our results also support the hypothesis that various genes subject to selective pressure during evolution or derived from whole genome duplication events later became potential targets of domestication.