Advances in Studies on Citrus Antioxidant Compounds Using Traditional and New Biotechnological Approaches
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 3691
Special Issue Editor
Interests: citrus genetic, genomic, transcriptomic, and advanced breeding technology; addressed to the improvement of fruit quality; to the exploitation of resistance to biotic stresses and to the valorization of true-to-typeness of clonal fingerprinting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Citrus is one of the most economically noteworthy and widely cultivated fruit crops worldwide. Several citrus and related genera are rich in nutraceutical and antioxidant compounds, such as flavonoids, carotenoids, and vitamin C. Most of them are characterized by beautiful colors that are attractive for pollinators; they protect flowers and fruits from UV damage and pathogens. They are also protective against several human diseases. Its interaction with external factors is known to control the biosynthesis and regulation of secondary metabolites. Owing to genetic and epigenetic control, the study on citrus compounds is very complex. Moreover, it is also known that biotic and abiotic stress can modulate and alter the quality and quantity of secondary metabolites. The narrow genetic diversity makes citrus and related ancient species exposed to several diseases (such as citrus canker, Alternaria brown spot, citrus black spot, and Huanglongbing) which are spreading rapidly in most of the world’s citrus-producing countries.
Many efforts have been made by breeders to study and manage the main genetic traits through traditional breeding, with the aim to anticipate the maturity period, produce varieties and hybrids enriched in nutraceutical and antioxidant compounds, as well as tolerant or resistant to main biotic and abiotic threats. These studies are addressed to protect citrus species and its fruits and products. Unfortunately, the long juvenile phase is a real limit to observe the traits of fruits for functional studies. However, much more has to be studied on the biosynthetic and regulatory mechanisms controlling antioxidant and nutraceutical compounds, making fruits and other tissues of citrus and related genera so important and appealing. Ancient citrus represents also a large source of genes and such knowledge needs to be deeply exploited. The study on the genetic diversity underlying the biosynthesis and regulation pathways aims to investigate citrus variability contributing to depict new improved varieties.
Therefore, in this Special Issue of Plants, novel scientific contributions (original research papers, opinions, reviews, perspectives, hypotheses, and new methods) are welcome, focusing on gene expression analysis and related functional studies, application of traditional breeding, and recent molecular and biotechnological advances based on new plant breeding technologies, genetic transformation, and epigenetic studies. All contributions must be focused on creating advancements in citrus crop improvement mainly of traits of fruit as they are naturally, or as consequence of the effect of external factors.
This Special Issue focuses on the following topics:
(i) gene expression analysis and related functional studies
(ii) traditional and molecular breeding
(iii) cisgenesis and genome editing
(iv) genetic transformation
(v) epigenetic studies
(vi) antioxidant and nutraceutical compounds
Dr. Concetta Licciardello
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- flavonoids
- carotenoids
- vitamin C
- secondary metabolites
- human health
- biotic and abiotic stress
- gene expression
- plant biotechnology
- molecular breeding
- cisgenesis
- genome editing
- epigenetics
