JXB Advance Access published online on November 13, 2009
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erp328
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© 2009 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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RESEARCH PAPER |
Differential gene expression analysis provides new insights into the molecular basis of iron deficiency stress response in the citrus rootstock Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.

1Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Carretera Moncada-Náquera, Km 4.5, E-46113 Moncada (Valencia), Spain
2Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas–Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (CSIC-UPV), Avenida de los Naranjos, s/n, E-46022 Valencia, Spain
To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: ancillo{at}ivia.es
Iron chlorosis is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting fruit trees and other crops in calcareous soils and leads to a reduction in growth and yield. Usual remediation strategies consist of amending iron to soil, which is an expensive practice, or using tolerant cultivars, which are difficult to develop when not available. To understand the mechanisms underlying the associated physiopathy better, and thus develop new strategies to overcome the problems resulting from iron deficiency, the differential gene expression induced by iron deficiency in the susceptible citrus rootstock Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. have been examined. The genes identified are putatively involved in cell wall modification, in determining photosynthesis rate and chlorophyll content, and reducing oxidative stress. Additional studies on cell wall morphology, photosynthesis, and chlorophyll content, as well as peroxidase and catalase activities, support their possible functions in the response to iron deficiency in a susceptible genotype, and the results are discussed.
Key words: Citrus rootstock, differential gene expression, iron chlorosis, iron deficiency, microarray, Poncirus trifoliata
* These authors contributed equally to this work.
Received 31 July 2009; Revised 25 September 2009 Accepted 12 October 2009