Genetic characterization of cassava (Manihot esculenta) landraces in Brazil assessed with simple sequence repeats

Based on nine microsatellite loci, the aim of this study was to appraise the genetic diversity of 42 cassava (Manihot esculenta) landraces from selected regions in Brazil, and examine how this variety is distributed according to origin in several municipalities in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Amazonas and Mato Grosso. High diversity values were found among the five above-mentioned regions, with 3.3 alleles per locus on an average, a high percentage of polymorphic loci varying from 88.8% to 100%, an average of 0.265 for observed heterozygosity and 0.570 for gene diversity. Most genetic diversity was concentrated within the regions themselves (HS = 0.52). Cluster analysis and principal component based scatter plotting showed greater similarity among landraces from São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Amazonas, whereas those from Minas Gerais were clustered into a sub-group within this group. The plants from Mato Grosso, mostly collected in the municipality of General Carneiro, provided the highest differentiation. The migration of human populations is one among the possible reasons for this closer resemblance or greater disparity among plants from the various regions

Cinética e parâmetros de fermentação ruminal in vitro de silagens de parte aérea e raízes de mandioca

Foram avaliados os efeitos do emurchecimento e da inclusão de raízes 0, 15, 30 e 45% da matéria natural sobre a cinética e os parâmetros da fermentação ruminal de silagens da parte aérea da mandioca. A produção acumulada de gases (PAG) às 96 horas de incubação foi influenciada significativamente (P<0,05) pela interação emurchecimento versus inclusão de raízes. Para a PAG, houve elevação linear de 1,88mL a cada unidade percentual de raiz adicionada às silagens não emurchecidas e efeito quadrático nas silagens emurchecidas, com produção máxima de 226mL de gases, com a inclusão de 30,5% de raízes. A degradabilidade verdadeira in vitro da MS (DVIMS) das silagens apresentou significância (P<0,05) para o emurchecimento e para a interação inclusão de raízes versus tempo de incubação. O emurchecimento reduziu, aproximadamente, 2% da degradabilidade da silagem, enquanto a inclusão de raízes propiciou elevação linear dessa variável, que atingiu o valor máximo às 24 horas de incubação

Nutritional divergence in genotypes of forage peanut

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional divergence between ten genotypes of forage peanut, based on chemical composition as well as fermentation and in vitro degradation kinetic characteristics. Treatments consisted of ten genotypes of Arachis pintoi, namely eight accessions (31135, 30333, 15121, 31828, 15598, 31534, 13251 and 31496) and two cultivars (cv. Belmonte and cv. Amarillo). The genotypes were harvested in each plot at a height of 3 cm from the ground, in 42-day intervals, during the time of heaviest rainfall. For the multivariate analysis the following variables, the following were used: crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, potential degradation in 48 hours, degradation rate of insoluble potentially degradable fraction and degradation rate of non-fibrous carbohydrate. The application of the hierarchical clustering analysis, using the Euclidian distances matrix of standardized averages allowed for the identification of five homogeneous groups. Among them, the accessions 31828, 31534, 15121 and cv. Belmonte stood out nutritionally among the remaining genotypes evaluated, depicting as promising for the utilization in ruminant feeding