The rootstock clones Rangpur lime(Citrus limonia), Sunki mandarin (C. sunki), Sour orange (C. aurantium) and Trifoliate orange(Poncirus trifoliata) were studied by discontinuous horizontal starch gel electrophoresis as to genotypes and segregations of the isozyme loci Pgi-1, Pgm-1, Got-1, Got-2, Prxa-1, Aps-1 and Me-1 as well as their relative allelic contributions to more than 400 hybrids between them. The loci Aps-1 and Me-1, although useful for identifying hybrids are homozygous in the genitors and consequently were disregarded in the studies of segregation and allelic contribution. In Trifoliate orange, the duplicate Got-2 locus previously described as having the genotype MT.SS is actually SS.MT being S an allele of F in Sunki (FF.MM) and of F and M in Sour orange (FM.MM). M and T of the duplication are alleles of M of the homozygous locus of Sour orange and Sunki as determined by the banding pattern observed in the hybrids and by the formation of the correspondent intralocus heterodimers. Among 27 segregations for the five loci investigated, statistically significant distorted segregations, occurred in six (22%) of them. Considering the absence of selection provided by ideal conditions of germination, handling of young hybrid embryos in Petri dishes and determination of genotypes at the first or second leaf pair, the results probably reflect distortion in the relative proportion of alleles in the gametes of the genitors, differential transmission of the alleles or distinct viability of their bearers in the hybrid zygotes. Due to the codominance of the alleles it was possible, from the genotypes of the hybrids, to deduce the relative contribution of each allele of the heterozygous loci of the genitors. Genotypic distortions did not come from the Trifoliate orange, occurred in one locus of Sour orange and Sunki mandarin and was traced back to Rangpur lime in the three tested loci. Such marked distortions are congruent with a possible interspecific hybrid origin of Rangpur lime and also illustrate the difficulty of genetic studies in citrus involving genotype proportions in zygotic progenies.
Citrus; distorted segregations; duplicated locus; genetics; Poncirus
