A family of small cyclic amphipathic peptides (SCAmpPs) genes in citrus.

Background Citrus represents a crop of global importance both in economic impact and significance to nutrition. Citrus production worldwide is threatened by the disease Huanglongbing (HLB), caused by the phloem-limited pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter spp.. As a source of stable HLB-resistance has yet to be identified, there is considerable interest in characterization of novel disease-associated citrus genes.