The doubled-diploid 'Mexican' lime had predominantly disomic segregation, producing interspecific diploid gamete structures with high C. medica/C. micrantha heterozygosity, compatible with the phylogenomic structures of triploid C. latifolia and C. aurantiifolia varieties. This disomic trend limits effective interspecific recombination and diversity of the diploid gamete population. Interploid reconstruction breeding using doubled-diploid lime as one parent is a promising approach for triploid lime diversification.

Polyploid citrus arise by somatic and sexual polyploidization, and both have been used in triploid breeding programs. Sexual polyploidization is mainly achieved by first-division restitution (FDR) or second-division restitution (SDR) meiotic restitution mechanisms. In citrus, mostly SDR producing 2n ovule has been described. However, we obtained 72 tetraploid hybrids from 4x X 2x sexual hybridizations using two doubled-diploid mandarins as female parents ('Moncada' mandarin and 'Fina' clementine) and a diploid hybrid tangor as male parent (clementine X sweet orange—'CSO') suggesting 2n pollen formation. This material was used to confirm the existence of 2n pollen in Citrus and to analyze its origin. SSR and SNP molecular marker analyses revealed that 64 out of the 72 recovered tetraploid plants resulted from the fertilization of a reduced diploid female gamete by unreduced (diploid) pollen from 'CSO', whereas eight tetraploid plants arose from self-pollination of the tetraploid parent. The maximum-likelihood method based on parental heterozygosity restitution (PHR) of centromeric loci identified both FDR and SDR as the mechanisms leading to unreduced male gamete formation. From the 64 unreduced gametes produced by diploid 'CSO' tangor, 41 (64.1%) were originated by FDR, whereas 12 (18.8%) were significant for SDR. Non-conclusive results were obtained for 11gametes (17.2%). The pattern of PHR variation of markers located along the linkage group 2 confirmed our results at population level. To our knowledge, this is the first report of tetraploid citrus progenies arising from unreduced pollen and the first description of the coexistence of two meiotic restitution mechanisms (SDR and FDR) producing unreduced pollen in citrus. (Résumé d'auteur

Unreduced (2n) gametes have played a pivotal role in polyploid plant evolution and are useful for sexual polyploid breeding in various species, particularly for developing new seedless citrus varieties. The underlying mechanisms of 2n gamete formation were recently revealed for Citrus reticulata but remain poorly understood for other citrus species, including lemon (C. limon [L.] Burm. f.). Here, we investigated the frequency and causal meiotic mechanisms of 2n megagametophyte production in lemon. We genotyped 48progeny plants of two lemon genotypes, “Eureka Frost” and “Fino”, using 16 Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) and 18 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers to determine the genetic origin of the progenies and the underlying mechanisms for 2n gamete formation. We utilized a maximum-likelihood method based on parental heterozygosity restitution (PHR) of centromeric markers and analysis of PHR patterns along the chromosome. The frequency of 2n gamete production was 4.9% for “Eureka Frost” and 8.3% for “Fino”, with three meiotic mechanisms leading to 2n gamete formation. We performed the maximum-likelihood method at the individual level via centromeric marker analysis, finding that 88% of the hybrids arose from second-division restitution (SDR), 7% from first-division restitution (FDR) or pre-meiotic doubling (PRD), and 5% from post-meiotic genome doubling (PMD). The pattern of PHR along LG1 confirmed that SDR is the main mechanism for 2n gamete production. Recombination analysis between markers in this LG revealed partial chiasma interference on both arms. We discuss the implications of these restitution mechanisms for citrus breeding and lemon genetics.