Assessing the genetic structure of Oryza glumaepatula populations with isozyme markers

To assess the genetic diversity and genetic structure parameters, nine populations of Oryza glumaepatula from the Amazon biome, four from the Pantanal biome, and one collected at Rio Xingu, Mato Grosso, totaling 14 populations and 333 individuals were studied with isozyme markers. Six loci were evaluated showing a moderate allozyme variability (A = 1.21, P = 20.7%, Ho = 0.005, He = 0.060). The populations from the Pantanal biome showed higher diversity levels than the Amazon biome. High genetic differentiation among the populations, expected for self-fertilizing species, was observed (F ST=0.763), with lower differentiation found among the Pantanal populations (F ST=0.501). The average apparent outcrossing rate was higher for the Pantanal populations (t a = 0.092) than for the Amazonian populations (t a = 0.003), while the average for the 14 populations was 0.047, in accordance with a self-fertilization mating system.Utilizando marcadores isoenzimáticos, foram avaliadas nove populações de Oryza glumaepatula originárias da Amazônia, quatro do bioma do Pantanal, e uma coletada no Rio Xingu, Mato Grosso, totalizando 14 populações e 333 indivíduos, com o objetivo de avaliar a diversidade genética e a estrutura genética dessas populações. Seis locos foram avaliados, mostrando variabilidade alozímica moderada (A = 1.21, P = 20.7%, Ho = 0.005, He = 0.060). As populações do bioma Pantanal apresentaram níveis de diversidade mais altos que as da Amazônia. Alta diferenciação genética entre populações, esperada para espécies autógamas, foi observada (F ST=0.763), com menor diferenciação encontrada entre populações do Pantanal (F ST=0.501). A taxa média de cruzamento aparente foi maior para as populações do Pantanal (t a = 0.092) que da Amazônia (t a = 0.003), enquanto que a taxa media para as 14 populações foi 0.047, em concordância com o sistema reprodutivo por autogamia.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa no Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Genetic diversity in Brazilian sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam., Solanales, Convolvulaceae) landraces assessed with microsatellite markers

We used simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to investigate the genetic diversity of 78 sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) accessions (58 landraces and 20 putative clones) from traditional agricultural households from 19 local communities in the Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo, Brazil. Eight SSR loci were assessed using 6% (w/v) polyacrylamide gels stained with silver nitrate and the accessions genotyped considering the presence or absence of bands. The results were subjected to analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), and cluster and principal coordinate analyses. Spatial structure was assessed using Mantel's test to compare genetic and geographic distances. Each primer pair generated between three and ten clearly scorable polymorphic fragments. Cluster analyses showed a Jaccard's index from 0.3 to 1.0, indicating high genetic and intravarietal diversity. Accessions from all 19 communities were not spatially structured (r = 0.15, p < 0.054), with AMOVA indicating that most of the variability (58.2%) was distributed within households and only 18.1% of the variability was distributed between households within communities. The outcrossing mating system of sweet potato, and anthropic factors such as selection of different varieties and their maintenance within household small plots and home gardens, as well as an extensive exchange system between agriculturists, may all be contributing to these results.FAPESPCNP

Genetic diversity of American wild rice species

Studies on genetic diversity and genetic structure of natural populations are important in order to define strategies for in situ and ex situ conservation actions and for plant pre-breeding programs. Aiming to assess the genetic diversity and genetic structure of three wild American Oryza species with isozyme markers, 14 populations of the diploid O. glumaepatula (AglAgl), 11 populations of the tetraploid O. grandiglumis (CCDD) and five populations of the also tetraploid O. latifolia (CCDD) were studied. They were all originated from Rio Paraguay hydrographic basin and the Amazon. Four enzymes were used and they gave 40 polymorphic bands. The most polymorphic species was O. glumaepatula, followed by O. latifolia and O. grandiglumis. A cluster analysis with the Jaccard similarity coefficient separated the diploid from the two tetraploid species, and also the two tetraploid species. This separation was also evident on a scatter plot from a principal component analysis, suggesting that they should be treated as two separate species, although further studies are necessary to provide support for this affirmative. The AMOVA analyses showed a high intrapopulational variability for O. latifolia (67.6%) and O. grandiglumis (52.2%), when compared to their interpopulational variability (32.4% and 47.8%, respectively), which suggests the hypothesis of a higher degree of outcrossing events within these species. When studying the correlation between the Jaccard dissimilarity coefficient and geographic distances, a spatial genetic structure was observed for O. glumaepatula only. These results are important for defining strategies of both in situ and ex situ conservation.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Evolutionary processes and the origin of crop plants

A evolução das plantas cultivadas, que teve início há cerca de 13.000 anos, está sujeita aos mesmos processos evolutivos naturais, aliada à ação do homem de forma consciente ou inconsciente, levando à domesticação. Nesta revisão, são apresentados os principais fatores evolutivos, tais como mutação, hibridação, migração, seleção e deriva genética, que, de alguma maneira, estão envolvidos com a origem, evolução e domesticação de plantas cultivadas. São apresentados também exemplos de como esses processos influenciaram na diversidade intra e interespecífica de plantas cultivadas, com o aparecimento de novas variedades ou mesmo de novas espécies. De modo geral, tais processos atuaram na ampliação, na manutenção, bem como na redução da variabilidade genética das plantas cultivadas.The evolution of crop plants, which began at about 13,000 years ago, is subject to the same natural evolutionary processes, coupled with the action of man, consciously or unconsciously, leading to domestication. This review presents the main evolutionary factors such as mutation, hybridization, migration, selection and genetic drift, which somehow are involved in the origin, evolution and domestication of crop plants. Examples of how these processes influenced in the intra and interespecific diversity of crop plants, with the uprise of new varieties or even of new species, are also presented. In general, these processes have worked well in the increase, maintenance, as well as in the reduction of genetic diversity of crop plants

Agro-morphological characterization of upland rice accessions

The agro-morphological characterization is fundamental in order to provide information for plant breeding programs. The aim of the present study was to characterize 146 accessions of upland rice (Oryza sativa L.), based on qualitative and quantitative agro-morphological descriptors. The experiment was conducted in Recife, state of Pernambuco, Brazil, using a randomized block design with three replicates. Polymorphism was observed among 12 of 14 qualitative characters evaluated, whereas significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed for 11 of the 14 analysed quantitative traits. Genetic variance was higher than environmental variance and the average inheritability coefficients were above 80 % for all characters, which ensures the predominance of the genetic components in the differences observed among accessions. On the cluster analysis for qualitative traits the accessions were classified in two groups with a total of 18 duplicates, whereas for the quantitative traits three groups were obtained with few subgroups. The principal component analysis for quantitative traits showed great dispersion of the accessions. The most divergent group of accessions included the genotypes Mitsukasane, Mie, Tomoe mochi, Ooba kirishima and Nourin mochi 6, which showed a higher number of spicklets per plant. There is high variability among the rice accessions from the germplasm collection studied, which presents great importance for breeding programs or for genetic studies on this species

Morphological and molecular diversity among cassava genotypes

The objective of this work was to characterize morphologically and molecularly the genetic diversity of cassava accessions, collected from different regions in Brazil. A descriptive analysis was made for 12 morphological traits in 419 accessions. Data was transformed into binary data for cluster analysis and analysis of molecular variance. A higher proportion of white or cream (71%) root cortex color was found, while flesh colors were predominantly white (49%) and cream (42%). Four accession groups were classified by the cluster analysis, but they were not grouped according to their origin, which indicates that diversity is not structured in space. The variation was greater within regions (95.6%). Sixty genotypes were also evaluated using 14 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Molecular results corroborated the morphological ones, showing the same random distribution of genotypes, with no grouping according to origin. Diversity indices were high for each region, and a greater diversity was found within regions, with: a mean number of alleles per locus of 3.530; observed and expected heterozygosity of 0.499 and 0.642, respectively; and Shannon index of 1.03. The absence of spatial structure among cassava genotypes according to their origins shows the anthropic influence in the distribution and movement of germplasm, both within and among regions.</jats:p

Isoenzymatic variability of cassava accessions from different regions in Brazil

A mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) pertence à família Euphorbiaceae, gênero Manihot, cultivada em todo o país. É a única do gênero utilizada na alimentação. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo o estudo da variabilidade isoenzimática de 200 acessos de mandioca obtidos junto ao banco de germoplasma da Embrapa Amazônia Oriental. Os acessos foram agrupados de acordo com o local de origem, obtendo-se desta forma sete grupos: 1-Amazonas, 2-Amapa, 3-Bahia, 4-Para, 5-Rondonia, 6-Diversos, incluindo-se neste grupo os acessos que se apresentavam em pequena quantidade por local de origem (um ou no máximo dois indivíduos), e 7- Acessos de origem desconhecida. Os acessos foram também avaliados como um todo. Para a corrida eletroforética, foram utilizadas amostras de folhas jovens em gel de amido a 12%. Foram avaliados oito sistemas isoenzimáticos: glutamato desidrogenase (GTDH), fosfatase ácida (ACP), leucina aminopeptidase (LAP), isocitrato desidrogenase (IDH), xiquimato desidrogenase (SKDH), enzima málica (ME), malato desidrogenase (MDH) e glucose-6-fosfato desidrogenase (G6PDH). A análise revelou um loco polimórfico por sistema. O material avaliado apresentou grande variabilidade isoenzimática. O número médio de alelos por loco variou de 2,3 a 2,5, a heterozigosidade média observada (;) variou de 0,381 a 0,615, e o índice de diversidade de 0,479 a 0,559. Observou-se maior variabilidade genética dentro dos grupos do que entre grupos, sugerindo um padrão de distribuição de variabilidade genética semelhante ao esperado para populações naturais de espécies alógamas.Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, and is widely cultivated in Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the isoenzymatic variability of 200 cassava accessions from the germplasm bank of Embrapa Amazonia Oriental. Seven groups were formed according to their origin: 1-Amazonas, 2-Amapa, 3-Bahia, 4-Para, 5-Rondonia, 6-Various, for accessions with a maximum of three individuals per place of origin, and 7 - Accessions of indefinite origin. The accessions were also evaluated as a whole. For the electrophoretic analyses, samples of young leaves were used in a 12% starch gel. Eight isoenzymatic systems were evaluated: acid phosphatase (ACP), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), shikimate dehydrogenase (SKDH), malic enzyme (ME), glutamate dehydrogenase (GTDH) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). Analysis revealed a polymorphic locus for each system and high isoenzymatic variability among accessions. The average number of alleles per locus varied from 2.3 to 2.5. Average observed heterozigosity varied from 0.381 to 0.615 and the diversity index varied from 0.479 to 0.559. Genetic variability within groups was greater than among groups, suggesting a distribution pattern similar to what can be expected for natural populations of outcrossing plants

Variabilidade isoenzimática de acessos de mandioca de diferentes regiões do Brasil

A mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) pertence à família Euphorbiaceae, gênero Manihot, cultivada em todo o país. É a única do gênero utilizada na alimentação. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo o estudo da variabilidade isoenzimática de 200 acessos de mandioca obtidos junto ao banco de germoplasma da Embrapa Amazônia Oriental. Os acessos foram agrupados de acordo com o local de origem, obtendo-se desta forma sete grupos: 1-Amazonas, 2-Amapa, 3-Bahia, 4-Para, 5-Rondonia, 6-Diversos, incluindo-se neste grupo os acessos que se apresentavam em pequena quantidade por local de origem (um ou no máximo dois indivíduos), e 7- Acessos de origem desconhecida. Os acessos foram também avaliados como um todo. Para a corrida eletroforética, foram utilizadas amostras de folhas jovens em gel de amido a 12%. Foram avaliados oito sistemas isoenzimáticos: glutamato desidrogenase (GTDH), fosfatase ácida (ACP), leucina aminopeptidase (LAP), isocitrato desidrogenase (IDH), xiquimato desidrogenase (SKDH), enzima málica (ME), malato desidrogenase (MDH) e glucose-6-fosfato desidrogenase (G6PDH). A análise revelou um loco polimórfico por sistema. O material avaliado apresentou grande variabilidade isoenzimática. O número médio de alelos por loco variou de 2,3 a 2,5, a heterozigosidade média observada (;) variou de 0,381 a 0,615, e o índice de diversidade de 0,479 a 0,559. Observou-se maior variabilidade genética dentro dos grupos do que entre grupos, sugerindo um padrão de distribuição de variabilidade genética semelhante ao esperado para populações naturais de espécies alógamas.Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, and is widely cultivated in Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the isoenzymatic variability of 200 cassava accessions from the germplasm bank of Embrapa Amazonia Oriental. Seven groups were formed according to their origin: 1-Amazonas, 2-Amapa, 3-Bahia, 4-Para, 5-Rondonia, 6-Various, for accessions with a maximum of three individuals per place of origin, and 7 - Accessions of indefinite origin. The accessions were also evaluated as a whole. For the electrophoretic analyses, samples of young leaves were used in a 12% starch gel. Eight isoenzymatic systems were evaluated: acid phosphatase (ACP), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), shikimate dehydrogenase (SKDH), malic enzyme (ME), glutamate dehydrogenase (GTDH) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). Analysis revealed a polymorphic locus for each system and high isoenzymatic variability among accessions. The average number of alleles per locus varied from 2.3 to 2.5. Average observed heterozigosity varied from 0.381 to 0.615 and the diversity index varied from 0.479 to 0.559. Genetic variability within groups was greater than among groups, suggesting a distribution pattern similar to what can be expected for natural populations of outcrossing plants