Researchers working on Biotech Efforts to help the Florida Citrus Industry
The state of Florida is one of the leading growers of citrus in the United States, having an over $9 billion industry that produces millions of orange, grapefruit, and specialty citrus crops each year. However, the industry has not been without its share of problems. Orange and grapefruit production forecasts have declined over the past two seasons, primarily due to fruit losses to hurricanes that have struck the region.
The industry has also been affected by citrus canker, a bacterium that weakens trees and mars its fruit, according to the Florida Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Earlier this year, the state put an end to its spare-no-tree eradication program after burning about 10.6 million affected commercial trees in 24 counties in Florida over the past 10 years. Now, in an effort to save and rebuild the citrus industry, researchers and scientists in the state are working to stop further spread of citrus canker with several potential projects using genetic engineering.
Researchers and scientists at the University of Florida Citrus Research Center have been developing genetically engineered commercial citrus trees modified to resist canker. Much of their lab work has revolved around cell fusion. Researchers are growing these cells in a nutrient rich culture in the Citrus Research Center’s labs, then genetically modifying the cells and growing them in Petri dishes for several months until they progress to the embryo stage, where they germinate.
Researchers and scientists also have several projects involving a technique known as transformation, where one gene or a small number of targeted genes from any source are introduced into a citrus variety. With this effort, any problematic traits such as canker susceptibility can be fixed. In one project, University of Florida Citrus Research Center researchers have inserted a gene found in rice into cells of Hamlin oranges. The rice gene, known as Xa21, is resistant to a bacterium that causes blight, a related bacterium that causes canker. The first genetically modified citrus plants containing the gene were recently put into quarantine and exposed to canker. The results of their efforts are still pending.
In addition, researchers have been trying to map the citrus genome for about two years, and the work is going well. Researchers are also working to genetically modify related fruits such as the kumquat and the Ichang Papeda, a citrus native to China that was brought to Florida in 1918.
A big question remains, however. Can the citrus industry survive until these projects come to its rescue?
The Florida Citrus Commission is confident that federal dollars that once went to canker eradication and compensation for growers will be redirected to lab work. Without this biotech research, growers will spend more money on things like sprays and tree replacements. With more research dollars coming from sources other than the citrus industry itself, the more money growers can spend doing other things to keep themselves afloat, including keeping markets open, the Commission said.
As a child, my family always went on vacation to Florida and one of the things I looked forward to seeing on each trip were the groves and acres of citrus tress and stopping with my family to pick up bags of oranges and grapefruits to take back home. It’s distressing to read that the citrus industry has been having problems, and I firmly believe these biotech research efforts by scientists and researchers in Florida are an important step in the right direction and should to be supported by state and federal funding. My hope is that the Florida citrus industry will be able to survive and thrive once again through these research efforts.
