Uso de AFLPS para discriminar raças primitivas de pupunha (Bactris gasipaes) na Amazônia brasileira

Although the first inhabitants of western Amazonia domesticated pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes Kunth, Palmae) or peach palm for its fruits, today it is widely planted for its heart-of-palm. Like other domesticates, pejibaye presents a complex hierarchy of landraces developed before the conquest of the Americas. The existence of three landraces (Pará, Solimões, Putumayo) was proposed along the Amazonas and Solimões Rivers, Brazil, based on morphological characteristics. There are some questions remaining about the intermediate landrace being an artifact of the morphometric analysis. AFLPs were used to evaluate the relationships among samples of these putative landraces. DNA was extracted from 99 plants representing 13 populations maintained in the Pejibaye Germplasm Bank, Manaus, AM; six primer combinations generated 245 markers via PCR, which were scored in an ABI Prism 310 sequencer and analyzed with GeneScan Software; Jaccard similarities were estimated and a dendrogram was generated with UPGMA. Two groups of plants were observed in the dendrogram instead of three, and were similar at 0.795. Each group contained two subgroups, similar at 0.815. One group (n=41) contained 73% Pará landrace plants, with one subgroup (n=22) containing 91% Pará, and the other (n=19) containing 53% Pará. The other group (n=58) contained 53% Solimões and 40% Putumayo landrace plants, with one subgroup (n=21) containing 52% Solimões and 43% Putumayo, and the other (n=35) containing 57% Solimões and 37% Putumayo. The first group confirmed the Pará landrace. The second group suggested that the Solimões landrace does not exist, but that the Putumayo landrace extends along the Solimões River to Central Amazonia.Os primeiros povos da Amazônia ocidental domesticaram a pupunha (Bactris gasipaes Kunth, Palmae) por seu fruto, embora hoje seja muito plantada por seu palmito. Como outros cultivos domesticados, a pupunha apresenta uma hierarquia complexa de raças primitivas criadas antes da conquista das Américas. A existência de três raças (Pará, Solimões, Putumayo) foi proposta ao longo dos rios Amazonas e Solimões, Brasil, com base em características morfológicas. Algumas dúvidas existem sobre a raça intermediária, pois podia ser um artefato da análise morfométrica. AFLPs foram usados para avaliar as relações entre amostras destas raças hipotéticas. DNA foi extraido de 99 plantas representando 13 populações mantidas no Banco de Germoplasma de Pupunha, Manaus, AM; seis combinações de 'primers' geraram 245 marcadores via PCR, que foram codificados num sequenciador ABI Prism 310 e analisados com o programa GeneScan; similaridades de Jaccard foram estimadas e um dendrograma foi criado com UPGMA. Dois grupos de plantas foram observados no dendrograma, em lugar de três, com similaridade de 0,795. Cada grupo continha dois subgrupos, similares a 0,815. Um grupo (n=41) continha 73% de plantas da raça Pará, com um subgrupo (n=22) contendo 91% Pará e o outro (n=19) contendo 53% Pará. O outro grupo (n=58) continha 53% de plantas da raça Solimões e 40% da Putumayo, com um subgrupo (n=21) contendo 52% Solimões e 43% Putumayo, e o outro (n=35) contendo 57% Solimões e 37% Putumayo. O primeiro grupo confirmou a raça Pará, mas o segundo grupo sugeriu que a raça Solimões não existe; em lugar desta raça, a raça Putumayo se extende ao longo do rio Solimões até a Amazônia Central

MAPPING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CUPUAÇU OCCURRENCE AREAS IN COMMUNITIES OF FAMILIAR FARMERS IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF ANAJATUBA, MARANHÃO STATE, BRAZIL

The municipality of Anajatuba, in the Baixada Maranhense, stands out for the tradition in the cultivation of cupuaçu and for the great potential of economic and sustainable exploitation of native tropical fruit trees. Thus, the mapping and characterization of the production areas was carried out. The objective of this work was mapping the areas of cupuaçu crop aiming to identify areas of familiar farmers with potential for participatory evaluation of BRS Carimbó cultivar. It was observed that the cupuaçu crops are located in areas generally covered by “Plintossolos” with flat slope to gently undulating land. The methodology developed will allow the same procedure to be performed in regions with the same environmental characteristics of the studied area

ÁREAS COM POTENCIAL PARA CONSERVAÇÃO DE RECURSOS DA BACABA (Oenocarpus distichus) NO ESTADO DO MARANHÃO, BRASIL

AREAS WITH POTENTIAL FOR THE CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES OF BACABA (Oenocarpus distichus) IN THE STATE OF MARANHÃO, BRAZILAREAS CON POTENCIAL PARA CONSERVACIÓN DE RECURSOS DA BACABA (Oenocarpus distichus) EN EL ESTADO DEL MARANHÃO, BRASILRESUMOAs bacabeiras (Oenocarpus distichus) são palmeiras típicas da Amazônia que ocorrem com maior frequência no leste, dispersando-se do Pará ao Maranhão. A bacabeira por suas características ecobotânicas apresentam grandes oportunidades de serem valoradas em serviços ecossistêmicos. É explorada pelo extrativismo, seja para o consumo de seus frutos na forma de bebida ou na extração do óleo, podendo ser cultivadas em sistemas agroflorestais para a produção de frutos, palmito e, especialmente, o óleo. O presente estudo investigou e mapeou a ocorrência de populações naturais de Oenocarpus distichus no Maranhão para identificar as áreas com potenciais para conservação. A pesquisa é descritiva e foi realizada em diferentes sedes municipais e/ou povoados de seis microrregiões do estado do Maranhão: Baixada Maranhense, Gurupi, Chapada das Mangabeiras, Litoral Ocidental Maranhense, Rosário e Itapecuru. Os pontos de ocorrência foram georreferenciados e armazenadas no aparelho GPS. Posteriormente no software (Qgis 2.18) foi feita a conversão das coordenadas de extensão KML para shapefile, criando um banco de dados utilizado para produzir o mapa da distribuição espacial da bacaba. Entre as áreas pesquisadas a maior ocorrência identificada foi na microrregião de Rosário, com destaque para os municípios de Axixá e Presidente Juscelino; seguido da microrregião do Litoral Ocidental Maranhense, em Serrano do Maranhão. Constatou-se que as populações de bacaba estão bastante reduzidas nas áreas mapeadas, contudo ainda existem indivíduos preservados em quintais, favorecendo estratégias de conservação on farm.Palavras-chave: Bacaba; Extrativismo; Maranhão.ABSTRACTThe bacabeiras (Oenocarpus distichus) are typical palms tree from Amazon that occur more frequently in the east, dispersing from Pará to Maranhão. The bacabeira due to its ecobotanical characteristics present great opportunities to be valued in ecosystem services. It is exploited by extractivism, either for the consumption of its fruits in the form of drinks or in the extraction of oil and can be grown in agroforestry systems to produce fruits, hearts of palm and, especially, oil. The present study investigated and mapped the occurrence of natural populations of Oenocarpus distichus in Maranhão to identify potential areas to conservation. The research is descriptive and was realized in different municipal headquarters and/or populated in six microregions in the state of Maranhão: Baixada Maranhense, Gurupi, Chapada das Mangabeiras, Litoral Ocidental Maranhense, Rosário and Itapecuru. The occurrence points were georeferenced and stored on the device GPS. Later, in the software (Qgis 2.18) the conversion of the KML extension coordinates to shapefile was performed, creating a database used to produce the spatial distribution map of bacaba. Among the areas surveyed, the highest occurrence identified was in microregion of Rosário with highlight on the municipalities of Axixá and Presidente Juscelino, followed by microregion of Litoral Ocidental Maranhense through of Serrano do Maranhão. It was constated that bacaba populations are considerable reduced in the mapped areas, however there are still individuals preserved at backyards, favoring conservation strategies on farm.Keywords: Bacaba; Extractivism; Maranhão.RESUMENLas bacabeiras (Oenocarpus distichus) son palmeras típicas de la Amazonia que ocurren con mayor frecuencia en el este, dispersándose del Pará al Maranhão, estados de Brasil. La bacabeira por sus características ecobotánicas presentan grandes oportunidades de ser valoradas en servicios ecosistémicos. Es explotada por el extractivismo, sea para el consumo de sus frutos en la forma de bebida o en la extracción del aceite, pudiendo ser cultivadas en sistemas agroforestales para la producción de frutos, palmito y especialmente, el aceite. El presente estudio investigó y mapeó áreas de ocurrencia de poblaciones naturales de O. distichus en Maranhão para identificar áreas com potencial para la conservación. La investigación es descriptiva y fue realizada en diferentes sedes municipales y/o poblados de seis microrregiones del estado de Maranhão: Baixada Maranhense, Gurupi, Chapada das Mangabeiras, Litoral Occidental Maranhense, Rosário y Itapecuru. Los puntos de ocurrencia fueron georreferenciados y almacenados en el dispositivo GPS. Más adelante en el software (Qgis 2.18), las coordenadas de extensión KML se convertieron en formato shapefile, creando uma base de datos utilizada para producir el mapa de distribuición espacial de bacaba. Entre las seis áreas investigadas la mayor ocurrencia identificada fue en la microrregión de Rosario, con destaque para los municipios de Axixá y Presidente Juscelino; seguido del Litoral Occidental Maranhense, en Serrano do Maranhão. Se constató que las poblaciones de bacaba están bastante reducidas en las áreas mapeadas, sin embargo todavía existen individuos preservados en quintales, favoreciendo estrategias de conservación on farm.Palabras clave: Amazonía; Extractivismo; Maranhão

First report of anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spaethianum on Allium fistulosum in Brazil

The Welch onion (Allium fistulosum L.) is widely grown in temperate and subtropical regions worldwide and has many important culinary uses. The occurrence of anthracnose on Welch onion has been reported in Korea and is caused by Colletotrichum circinans (Kim et al. 2008). Since 2012, symptoms typical of anthracnose have been observed on Welch onions in a vegetable garden located in the Japanese Colony of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil (59°59′06″ W; 03°04′16″ S). This disease occurred in 50% of the seedlings and the symptoms consist of brown necrotic spots that extend along the entire leaf. Acervuli collected directly from the leaves were plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) and then incubated at 25°C for three to four days. Single-spore cultures were obtained from three isolates from different plants. On PDA medium, the isolates initially produced white colonies, which then turned gray and had an orange-colored conidial mass. On Spezieller Nährstoffarmer Agar (SNA) medium (Leslie and Summerell, 2006), they formed numerous black structures such as sclerotia, setae, and acervuli. Conidia on SNA are hyaline, aseptate, curved or slightly curved, with a rounded apex and truncated base that is 13.1 to 20.2 μm long and 3.3 to 4.0 μm wide. The appressoria are solitary or in loose groups, dark brown, irregularly shaped, sometimes partially lobed, smooth-walled, and from 5.6 to 10.8 μm long and 4.3 to 8.2 μm wide. An alignment of the actin (ACT) and chitin synthase (CHS-1) partial gene sequences showed 100% identity with Colletotrichum spaethianum (Allesch.) Damm, P. F. Cannon & Crous (CBS 167.49). Maximum likelihood analysis was done using the published sequences of the ACT and CHS-1 genes from C. spaethianum and other Colletotrichum species that have curved conidia (Damm et al. 2009; Vieira et al. 2014). The individual data sets were combined using the web tool FaBox (1.41) and analysis with PAUP (1000 bootstrap replicates). Based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis, the isolates were identified as C. spaethianum. The sequences for the isolates obtained in the present study were deposited in GenBank (ACT Accession Nos. KT184300 to KT184302; CHS-1 Accession Nos. KT184303 to KT184305). The cultures were deposited in the Culture Collection of Microorganisms of the National Institute of the Amazonian Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, INPA) (INPA 2615, 2770, and 2774). Five Welch onion seedlings were sprayed with a conidial suspension (106 conidia/ml) for each isolate and control seedlings were sprayed with sterile water. Plants were covered with plastic bags and maintained at 28°C ± 2°C in a greenhouse and a 12-h photoperiod. Symptoms typical of anthracnose were induced five days postinoculation, and signs of the pathogen were observed at 12 days postinoculation. No symptoms were observed in the control plants. C. spaethianum was reisolated from symptomatic plants, completing Koch’s postulates. C. spaethianum has been described on Hosta sieboldiana in Germany, Lilium sp. in South Korea, Hemerocallis sp. in New Zealand (Damm et al. 2012), Hemerocallis fulva, Hemerocallis citrine, and Peucedanum praeruptorum in China (Yang et al. 2012; Guo et al. 2013), and Hemerocallis flava in Brazil (Vieira et al. 2014). To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. spaethianum on A. fistulosum. © 2016, American Phytopathological Society. All rights reserved

Post-transcriptional silencing of the SGE1 gene induced by a dsRNA hairpin in Fusarium oxysporum f. Sp cubense, the causal agent of Panama disease

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp cubense (Foc), the causal agent of Panama disease, is responsible for economic losses in banana crops worldwide. The identification of genes that effectively act on pathogenicity and/or virulence may contribute to the development of different strategies for disease control and the production of resistant plants. The objective of the current study was to analyze the importance of SGE1 gene expression in Foc virulence through post-transcriptional silencing using a double-stranded RNA hairpin. Thirteen transformants were selected based on different morphological characteristics, and sporulation in these transformants was significantly reduced by approximately 95% (P < 0.05) compared to that of the wild-type strain. The relative SGE1 expression levels in the transformant strains were reduced by 27 to 47% compared to those in the wild-type strain. A pathogenicity analysis revealed that the transformants were able to reach the rhizomes and pseudostems of the inoculated banana plants. However, the transformants induced initial disease symptoms in the banana plants approximately 10 days later than that by the wild-type Foc, and initial disease symptoms persisted even at 45 days after inoculation. These results indicate that the SGE1 gene is directly involved in the virulence of Foc. Therefore, SGE1 may be a potential candidate for host-induced gene silencing in banana plants. © FUNPEC-RP

Distribution of mating-type alleles and M13 PCR markers in the black leaf spot fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis of bananas in Brazil

The fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis is the causative agent of black sigatoka, which is one of the most destructive diseases of banana plants. Infection with this pathogen results in underdeveloped fruit, with no commercial value. We analyzed the distribution of the M. fijiensis mating-type system and its genetic variability using M13 phage DNA markers. We found a 1:1 distribution of mating-type alleles, indicating MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 idiomorphs. A polymorphism analysis using three different primers for M13 markers showed that only the M13 minisatellite primers generated polymorphic products. We then utilized this polymorphism to characterize 40 isolates from various Brazilian states. The largest genetic distances were found between isolates from the same location and between isolates from different parts of the country. Therefore, there was no correlation between the genetic similarity and the geographic origin of the isolates. The M13 marker was used to generate genetic fingerprints for five isolates; these fingerprints were compared with the band profiles obtained from inter-simple sequence repeat (UBC861) and inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism analyses. We found that the M13 marker was more effective than the other two markers for differentiating these isolates. © FUNPEC-RP

Genetic divergence between clones of guarana

As técnicas multivariadas, para estimar a diversidade genética de um grupo de progenitores, têm sido utilizadas com freqüência pelos melhoristas de plantas. Os progenitores são utilizados em cruzamentos biparentais ou múltiplos, para formação de populações segregantes que tenham maior probabilidade de recuperação de genótipos superiores. Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de identificar clones de guaranazeiro produtivos e divergentes que possam ser utilizados em um programa de cruzamentos para obter híbridos com alto valor heterótico e materiais para propagação vegetativa. Foram avaliados 148 clones de guaranazeiro atualmente em uso no programa de melhoramento genético da Embrapa-Centro de Pesquisa Agroflorestal da Amazônia Ocidental. Utilizou-se, para estimativa da divergência genética, a análise de agrupamento, em que a medida de dissimilaridade utilizada foi a distância euclidiana média padronizada e os métodos de agrupamento de otimização de Tocher e do vizinho mais próximo para construção do dendrograma entre grupos de clones. Houve a formação de sete grupos divergentes de clones. Concluiu-se que a divergência genética entre os clones não é grande, pois dois grupos foram formados com dois clones e três grupos foram formados somente com um único clone. Os clones CMU384 e CMU801 foram os mais próximos geneticamente e podem ser utilizados na formação de uma população com desenvolvimento vegetativo uniforme para uso em plantios comerciais.The multivariate techniques to estimate the genetic diversity of a group of progenitors has been used by plant breeders. The progenitors are still being used in parental or multiple crossings to form segregating populations that have larger probability of recovering superior genotypes. This work was carried out with the objective of identifying guarana clones with high production and divergent clones that can be used in a crossing program in order to obtain hybrids with heterosis, as well as materials for vegetative propagation. One hundred and forty-eight clones of guarana in use at this moment in the genetic breeding program of Embrapa-Centro de Pesquisa Agroflorestal da Amazônia Ocidental were studied. To estimate the genetic divergence, the cluster analysis was used in which the measure of dissimilarity used was the euclidian average standardized distance and the Tocher's method of grouping and a single linkage method to make up a dendrogram between groups of clones. There was formation of seven divergent groups. It was concluded that the genetic divergence between the clones is not large because two groups with two clones and three groups with one clone have been formed. The CMU384 and CMU801 clones were the genetically closest and could be used to form a population with uniform vegetative development for use in commercial plantations

Contribution of the institutions in the Northern region of Brazil to the development of plant cultivars and their impact on agriculture

This paper describes the development of breeding programs in northern Brazil and their main impacts on agriculture. Their contribution to the breeding of the species palm oil, acai fruit, cacao, cupuaçu, guarana, tomato, camu-camu, cocona, peach palm, and rubber was laid out in detail. Advances in breeding programs of institutions such as Embrapa, Ceplac, Inpa, and Universities require investments in infrastructure and in human and financial resources to ensure continuity and efficiency in economic, social and environmental gains. The improvement of native species, the main focus of the breeding programs of the institutions in the Northern region of Brazil, is a form of exploiting the Amazonian biodiversity for the benefit of society. Therefore, policies to foster research institutions should be a subject of deliberation and action of the scientific and technological community in Brazil