Characterization of five sour orange clones through molecular markers and leaf essential oils analysis

Five clones of sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.) showing significant morphological differences were selected from our germplasm collection and characterized both by genetic and leaf volatiles analysis. The genetic studies were undertaken by the use of molecular markers developed by PCR-based techniques (ISSR and RAPD), while the leaf essential oil patterns were obtained by chromatographic and mass spectrometric determination. Data obtained suggest that reasonably similar information can be achieved from the two techniques, supporting each other in characterization studies.