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MAPPING
FEATURE | citrus
the Citrus Genome
Understanding the Citrus Species’ Past to Unlock a More Disease-Tolerant Future
by JULIE GMITTER
Citrus was first domesticated in Southeast Asia, then spread to Europe and the Americas via trade routes, and has ancestral roots that can be traced back to over five million years ago. Interestingly, the orange you may be eating today is thought to have originated from two wild citrus species, citrus maxima and citrus reticulata. For the last ten years, Dr. Fred G. Gmitter at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred has been working collaboratively with citrus scientists from Brazil, France, Spain, Italy, and the United States to map the entire citrus genome.
are genetic mixtures of Citrus reticulata and pummelo; sweet oranges are a complex hybrid, constituted by parts of the pummelo and mandarin genomes. Because sweet orange is the world’s most commonly grown citrus species, the benefits of researching its ancestral roots are endless. Dr. Gmitter explains, “Now that we understand the genetic structure of sweet orange, for example, we can imagine reproducing early citrus domestication using modern breeding techniques that could draw from a broader pool of natural variation and resistance.”
Dr. Gmitter’s tireless work to map the entire citrus genome has enabled him and his team to now use that information to work on finding the genetic sequence in sweet orange that can be manipulated to improve the tree’s disease resistance, response to environmental stress, fruit flavor, and even health-promoting benefits. Genetic modifications that could potentially eradicate citrus greening are now on the horizon!
Dr. Gmitter’s full publication can be viewed here: http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v32/n7/full/ nbt.2906.html ag
by STEVEN E. CRISMAN
For assistance determining if your property qualifies and how to calculate depreciation for your business, seek the guidance of your tax advisor.
Bio: Steven Crisman is the managing partner of Cross, Fernandez & Riley, LLP’s (C/F/R) Winter Haven office and leads their Agriculture Practice Group. He primarily serves the agriculture, manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution industries. He has specific experience with citrus growers, cattle ranchers, citrus and other horticultural nurseries, citrus harvesters and other support industries as well as watermelon, blueberry and other growers. In addition, Steve provides comprehensive tax and estate planning, attestation and business succession planning services.
Through traditional breeding methods like grafting, in which the scion (fruit- bearing part of the tree) is propagated onto the rootstock, the new tree will produce fruit quickly. However, the fruit will all be genetically identical, and unfortunately, that includes identical disease susceptibility.
“Citrus has incestuous genes— nothing is pure,” explains Dr. Gmitter. Since the modern cultivated citrus trees have such a “narrow genetic diversity,” Dr. Gmitter and his team of scientists hope to be able to use their new understanding of the citrus genome to identify sequences that will deploy genes for resistance to citrus
greening, the devastating disease caused by bacterial infection via the Asian citrus psyllid. Dr. Gmitter’s genetic analysis of sweet and sour oranges was published recently online in the journal Nature Biotechnology. He is the chairman of the International Citrus Genome Consortium and has employed the efforts of US GENOSCOPE France and IGA Italy to sequence a full catalog of all genes in those varieties, as well as the DNA structure of the genome.
The wild species citrus maxima gave rise to the modern pummelo, the largest citrus fruit, which can weigh up to four pounds or even more. Today’s modern mandarins
Because sweet orange is the world’smost commonly grown citrus species, the benefits of researching its ancestral roots are endless.
REPORTING WHAT YOU SOW: DEPRECIATION
PROPERTY THAT YOU ACQUIRE while running your farm or ranch is often considered depreciable, meaning that the IRS allows your business to recoup a portion of the cost of the property each year over a specified useful life. To qualify, property must have a useful life of over one year and eventually wear out or become obsolete. This often includes structures, machinery, equipment, and livestock.
Over the last 35 years, depreciation lives and methods have been altered by Congress. The following steps should be followed for each asset placed in service on your farm or ranch:
1. Calculate the basis of your property. Typically, the basis will equal the initial cost, however, inheriting property, building property, or converting personal property for business use will affect its basis in a separate way. If the property was a gift, the cost is transferred to you.
FloridaAgNews.com
2. Establish when the property was placed into service.
This does not necessarily mean when you put the property into use, but instead when it is deemed ready and available for its exact use. Depending on the type of property, this date will vary. For example, fruit or nut tree’s depreciation begins when they reach the income-producing stage, while breeding livestock are depreciable when they reach maturity.
3. Determine the property’s class. There are nine classes depicting the property’s recovery period of useful life. The recovery period begins at three years for certain types of property and can extend to 39 years for others.
4. Select a depreciation method. There are multiple methods that you can choose when determining what portion of the property’s basis is claimed each year of the recovery period. The method used is typically based on the property’s class.
FOR MORE INFO http://www. nature.com/ nbt/journal/ v32/n7/full/ nbt.2906.html
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