Phenotypic variation in a Germplasm Collection of pepper (Capsicum spp.) from Espírito Santo / Variação fenotípica em uma coleção de germoplasma de pimenta (Capsicum spp.) do Espírito Santo

Peppers belong to the Capsicum genus, which has an immense variety of types, sizes, colors, flavors, and pungencies, being part of the Brazilian cultural wealth and is an important genetic resource. The aim of the present study was to perform the morpho-agronomic characterization and estimate the genetic divergence between 40 accessions of pepper collected from rural producers in  eight regions of Espírito Santo: Domingos Martins, Venda Nova do Imigrante, Conceição de Castelo, Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Alegre, Guaçuí, Colatina e Santa Teresa. The work was carried out under field conditions in Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo (IFES) - Campus de Alegre the Experimental Farm. The experimental design was completely randomized, with six replications, totaling 240 experimental plots. The accessions were characterized based on twelve morpho-agronomic traits, namely: plant height, crown diameter, fruit shape, fruit length and diameter, fruit weight, pericarp thickness, number of seeds per fruit, number of locules per fruit, stem width, and leaf width and length. A great phenotypic variability was found for the twelve traits evaluated. The genetic divergence between the accessions was estimated using the Tocher clustering method, using the Mahalanobis distance, as a measure of dissimilarity, forming seven groups. It was not possible to verify a correlation between genetic diversity and the place of origin of the accessions, since in the same group genotypes collected in quite distant rural properties were arranged. Singh's method, used to estimate the relative contribution of each trait in the expression of genetic divergence, indicated that the diameter of the fruit (28.77%) and the weight of the fruit (21.33%) were the ones that most contributed to the total divergence (50.10%) between the pepper accessions. The width and length of the leaf contributed less, representing a percentage of 2.04% and 1.26%, respectively. The morpho-agronomic characterization was efficient to estimate the genetic diversity between accessions, showing significant divergence, providing the best knowledge about the accessions, demonstrating their potential for use as parents in breeding programs. All accesses were considered distinct, which allowed to disregard the hypothesis of duplicates in the germplasm collection. There was no correlation between genetic distance and the origin of accessions, which may reflect the common practice of pepper exchanges among rural producers

Evaluation of pepper fruits based on fruit physical and chemical characteristics / Avaliação de frutos de pimenta com base nas características físicas e químicas dos frutos

The modernization of agriculture associated with the abandonment of agricultural activities has caused the loss of genetic diversity in crops such as pepper. The characterization and evaluation of pepper germplasm allows to indicate plants with potential for immediate use for farmers, as well as to identify accessions with interesting traits for plant breeding. In this sense, the present study aimed to characterize 40 accessions of pepper from the Germplasm Collection Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo (IFES) - Campus de Alegre, collected in the South and Mountain ranges of the State of Espírito Santo, based on physical-chemical descriptors. The experiment was maintained under field conditions in IFES Experimental farm, with six fruits - completely ripe and still firm - randomly harvested of each genotype. The physical-chemical characterization was carried out at the Laboratory of Bromatology and Applied Chemistry at IFES, to evaluate the traits of moisture, total soluble solids, total titratable acidity, pH and ash content. Subsequently, the study of genetic diversity was carried out by the UPGMA method to obtain the dendrogram, based in Mahalanobis matrix of dissimilarity. The Singh's analysis was performed to ascertain the relative contribution of each physical-chemical characteristic for the genetic divergence. For the evaluated traits, an average variation was observed between the accessions, which can be correlated with the constant exchange of seeds between rural producers in regions of the collection. For the analysis of genetic diversity, the UPGMA technique was efficient in adjusting the distances, with a cophenetic correlation of 0.86 and the formation of six groups. Through the measure of genetic dissimilarity between the accession pairs, expressed by the generalized Mahalanobis distance (D2), it was found that the most distant genotypes are IFES 08 and IFES 22, with a distance of 52.04, while the accessions IFES 23 and IFES 31 were considered the closest genetically, with a distance of 0.09. Singh's method indicated that total titratable acidity (28.48%), followed by total soluble solids (21.71%) were the traits that most contributed to genetic divergence. It was found that the physical-chemical characterization was efficient to estimate the genetic diversity between the accessions, showing medium divergence, being an important tool for the knowledge and use of the accessions traditionally cultivated in the State of Espírito Santo.

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Morphological characterization and analysis of genetic variability among pepper accessions

ABSTRACT: The peppers of the genus Capsicumhave economic potential and elevated genetic variability. The objective of the study was to characterize morpho-agronomically and estimate the genetic divergence among pepper accessions of the active germplasm bank of Capsicumof the Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo, Campus Alegre. Thirty accessions were characterized based on ten morphological descriptors being the experimental design completely randomized, with six repetitions. Genetic diversity among the accessions was estimated by the Tocher grouping method as a measurement of dissimilarity and formed eight groups. The Singh method, used to estimate the relative contribution of each character in the expression of genetic divergence, indicated that the diameter of the produce (20.19%) and the height of the plant (19.46%) were the ones to contribute most to the total divergence (39.65%) among the accessions of pepper being studied. The study evidenced the existence of high genetic variability among the accessions of C. annuumcollected in the south region of the state of Espírito Santo. No correlation was detected between the genetic distance and location of collections

Mutton mortadella supplemented with yacón meal

ABSTRACT: This study evaluated the effect of different yacón meal concentrations (Smallanthus sonchifolia) on the physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of four mortadella formulations (F1, F2, F3, and control) prepared with mutton, pork fat, and additives. All formulations met the physicochemical and microbiological standards defined in regulations for mortadella production in Brazil. Control and F1 were the formulations with better acceptance scores, compared with F2 and F3. The judges stated favorable purchase intention for the control, F1 and F2 formulations. Results showed that mutton mortadella supplemented with yacón meal is a promising alternative in the manufacture of healthier meat products

Phenotypic and Molecular Characterization of Brazilian Capsicum Germplasm

Population growth and the high demand for food production has caused environmental degradation losses in biodiversity. The conservation of genetic resources is the most appropriate strategy for maintaining the variability of species of great importance, such as Capsicum. In this study, we describe the characterization of 69 pepper accessions of four Capsicum species from different regions of Brazil on the basis of qualitative and quantitative descriptors and ISSR markers. The 11 quantitative descriptors grouped the 69 populations into five clades. The fruit traits had the greater discrimination power. A strong correlation was detected between some pairs of quantitative descriptors: petiole and fruit length, fruit diameter and fresh fruit mass, leaf length and leaf width, canopy and plant height, stem diameter and plant height, stem diameter and canopy diameter. A negative correlation was also observed between plant height and pericarp thickness. Moreover, the molecular analysis grouped accessions into five clades. The morpho-agronomic and molecular characterization were efficient to estimate the genetic diversity between accessions, being important tools for the knowledge and use of accessions. This study is of great importance to preserve pepper germplasm and to provide data to facilitate the process of the selection in breeding programs