ACID CITRUS SOMATIC HYBRIDS BETWEEN SUDACHI (CITRUS-SUDACHI HORT EX SHIRAI) AND LIME (C-AURANTIFOLIA SWING) PRODUCED BY ELECTROFUSION

Conditions were established for the production of hybrid plants between sudachi embryogenic nucellar suspension culture and lime mesophyll protoplasts by electrofusion. Under these conditions, 12 clones out of a total of 40 embryoids obtained were regenerated to complete plants through embryogenesis. Eight of the regenerated clones were shown to be somatic hybrids on the basis of chromosome number and analysis of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The other 4 were recognized to have lime-type characteristics. This electrofusion method considerably simplified protoplast fusion of citrus plants and allowed successful production of acid citrus somatic hybrids.