Deciphering global warming effects on reproductive biology of Mediterranean mandarins

Climate change, especially high temperatures, has a significant impact on plant performance and productivity, including woody crops such as citrus. This project aims to study the effects of temperature stress on reproduction and plant physiology, particularly in citrus.

Climate change affects reproduction through morphological, physiological, and molecular changes in male and female organs, pollen-pistil interactions, and self-incompatibility responses. In citrus, lack of fertilization usually results in seedless parthenocarpic fruits, but temperature stress can cause breakdown of self-incompatibility, resulting in seedy fruits.

The project will focus on the effect of temperature stress on incompatibility responses in selected mandarin cultivars exposed to different temperature regimes during the fruiting cycle. An integrated cytological, molecular and genetic approach will be used to decipher the effects of temperature stress.

The results will provide insight into the pollen-pistil interaction in mandarin varieties under critical environmental conditions. Understanding how temperature variation alters the reproductive process will help define the temperature conditions that cause seedy fruit production and high depreciation of its commercial value.