Citrus tristeza virus resistance in a core collection of sour orange based on a diversity study of three germplasm collections using QTL-linked markers

Seven markers linked to QTL involved in CTV accumulation, leafminer resistance and apomictic reproduction were used to characterize 64 sour orange ( Citrus aurantium L.) accessions from three national collections in order to identify a representative core in which the resistance behaviour against two Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) isolates was studied. Different degrees of apomixis were found between the foreign collections. Most of the C. aurantium accessions fall into three main groups based on three multilocus genotypes. The haplotype diversity at three CTV accumulation QTL-linked markers was further studied by sequence analysis of alleles. Genotypic and allelic diversity at one of them, tightly linked to Ctv-R ₂ in Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. , match the plant–CTV interaction types reported among Poncirus and Citrus species. Only those selected accessions from the major group presented CTV resistance during 30 months of continuous growth, but later the resistance broke down in some plants. CTV tolerance appears related to slow growing genotypes. Certain micronutrients: Mn, and B depending on the accession, might play a relevant role in this host–pathogen interaction particularly in alkaline soils.