Hyperacidification of Citrus fruits by a vacuolar proton-pumping P-ATPase complex

Pamela Strazzer, Cornelis E. Spelt, Shuangjiang Li, Mattijs Bliek, Claire T. Federici, Mikeal L. Roose, Ronald Koes () and Francesca M. Quattrocchio ()
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Pamela Strazzer: University of Amsterdam
Cornelis E. Spelt: University of Amsterdam
Shuangjiang Li: University of Amsterdam
Mattijs Bliek: University of Amsterdam
Claire T. Federici: University of California
Mikeal L. Roose: University of California
Ronald Koes: University of Amsterdam
Francesca M. Quattrocchio: University of Amsterdam

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The sour taste of Citrus fruits is due to the extreme acidification of vacuoles in juice vesicle cells via a mechanism that remained elusive. Genetic analysis in petunia identified two vacuolar P-ATPases, PH1 and PH5, which determine flower color by hyperacidifying petal cell vacuoles. Here we show that Citrus homologs, CitPH1 and CitPH5, are expressed in sour lemon, orange, pummelo and rangpur lime fruits, while their expression is strongly reduced in sweet-tasting “acidless” varieties. Down-regulation of CitPH1 and CitPH5 is associated with mutations that disrupt expression of MYB, HLH and/or WRKY transcription factors homologous to those activating PH1 and PH5 in petunia. These findings address a long-standing enigma in cell biology and provide targets to engineer or select for taste in Citrus and other fruits.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08516-3

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