After analyzing genome sequences of 10 species of citrus fruit, researchers from the University of Florida and declared there is a need for genetic diversity.
Citrus fruits like sweet/sour oranges and mandarins were analyzed for the study, which lasted 10 years.
"Citrus has incestuous genes - nothing is pure. Now that we understand the genetic structure of sweet orange, for example, we can imagine reproducing early citrus domestication using modern breeding techniques that could draw from a broader pool of natural variation and resistance," Fred Gmitter of Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida, said, according to a university press release.
Citrus trees around the world are usually grown by grafting one type of tree to another. This allows shorter turnaround time for yields, according to Tech Times.
The downside is that if one tree is susceptible to parasite or disease, all other trees with those genes are also in trouble.
"What we've found is that we're planting very similar trees to what were planted 4,000 years ago. These same genotypes do not provide much diversity to resist diseases, and there is very little wild citrus that can be used to easily add diversity to modern citrus," Jeremy Schmutz, one of the lead investigators, stated, according to the release.
The researchers now hope their work helps combat citrus greening, which is a bacterial infection that harms large amounts of citrus trees in North America, according to report by News Tonight Africa.
"Current control methods include removing and destroying infected trees, controlling the psyllid, and providing additional nutrition in an attempt to keep infected trees productive," according to the university release.
The study on citrus genomes was published this week in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
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