DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NINE MICROSATELLITE LOCI FOR SISYRINCHIUM MICRANTHUM (IRIDACEAE)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Premise of the study: Sisyrinchium micranthum is an herb with wide distribution and morphological variation, presenting three known cytotypes (2x, 4x, and 6x), which is naturally occurring from Mexico to Argentina. The development of microsatellite markers for this species is important to provide molecular tools to investigate polyploidy origin, as well as its relationship with phenotypic and genetic variability. Methods and Results: Nine microsatellite markers were isolated using an enriched genomic library and characterized in a diploid population. Eight markers generated polymorphic loci in 27 plants of a population from southern Brazil. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to nine, and the observed and expected heterozygosities varied from 0.192 to 0.741 and from 0.370 to 0.884, respectively. Conclusions: These species-specific DNA markers may be useful for further investigations of the involved polyploidization process and the population genetics of S. micranthum.9910E402E404Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Comite Francais d'Evaluation de la Cooperation Universitaire avec le Bresil (COFECUB) [550/07]Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Genetica e Biologia Molecular (PPGBM)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)CNPq [477533/2009-4, 141900/2008-3]CAPES [550/07]Comite Francais d'Evaluation de la Cooperation Universitaire avec le Bresil (COFECUB) [550/07]FAPESP [2006/61242-8

MICROSATELLITE LOCI FOR PASPALUM ATRATUM (POACEAE) AND CROSS-AMPLIFICATION IN OTHER SPECIES

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Premise of the study: Paspalum atratum is a perennial, cespitose, tropical grass native to Central and South America. This species belongs to a polyploid complex (Plicatula group) little known at the genetic level. The characterized microsatellite markers provide new informative tools for further studies of the hybridization, mating systems, and structure of the population. Methods and Results: Using the microsatellite-enriched library method, we isolated and characterized 19 microsatellite markers from P. atratum. Eleven of them were polymorphic, showing a variable degree of variation, while eight were monomorphic in the samples analyzed. Additionally, the transferability of these microsatellite markers was tested in other species. Conclusions: These results suggest that the characterized markers have enough discriminatory potential to be used in genetic characterizations of Paspalum taxa, which are based on an understanding of their mating systems and genetic structure, as well as in understanding the evolutionary processes involved in the evolution of groups of Paspalum.9711E107E110Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)[2006/61242-8]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FAPESP [05/51010][2006/61242-8

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Paspalum notatum Flugg, (Poaceae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Paspalum notatum is a forage grass recognized as one of the major constituents of the native grasslands in the New World. The knowledge of the genetic diversity and structure of P. notatum populations is fundamental for the conservation and germplasm management of this species. About 11 microsatellite markers were isolated from P. notatum and characterized in 25 accessions. The average number of alleles per locus was 7.9 and the PIC ranged from 0.36 to 0.89. The data demonstrated that the most of markers are suitable to detect polymorphism and to study the genetic diversity in the P. notatum species. Moreover, the transferability of these microsatellite were tested on other three congeneric species.10619771980Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Genetic variation in polyploid forage grass: Assessing the molecular genetic variability in the Paspalum genus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Background: Paspalum (Poaceae) is an important genus of the tribe Paniceae, which includes several species of economic importance for foraging, turf and ornamental purposes, and has a complex taxonomical classification. Because of the widespread interest in several species of this genus, many accessions have been conserved in germplasm banks and distributed throughout various countries around the world, mainly for the purposes of cultivar development and cytogenetic studies. Correct identification of germplasms and quantification of their variability are necessary for the proper development of conservation and breeding programs. Evaluation of microsatellite markers in different species of Paspalum conserved in a germplasm bank allowed assessment of the genetic differences among them and assisted in their proper botanical classification. Results: Seventeen new polymorphic microsatellites were developed for Paspalum atratum Swallen and Paspalum notatum Flugge, twelve of which were transferred to 35 Paspalum species and used to evaluate their variability. Variable degrees of polymorphism were observed within the species. Based on distance-based methods and a Bayesian clustering approach, the accessions were divided into three main species groups, two of which corresponded to the previously described Plicatula and Notata Paspalum groups. In more accurate analyses of P. notatum accessions, the genetic variation that was evaluated used thirty simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci and revealed seven distinct genetic groups and a correspondence of these groups to the three botanical varieties of the species (P. notatum var. notatum, P. notatum var. saurae and P. notatum var. latiflorum). Conclusions: The molecular genetic approach employed in this study was able to distinguish many of the different taxa examined, except for species that belong to the Plicatula group, which has historically been recognized as a highly complex group. Our molecular genetic approach represents a valuable tool for species identification in the initial assessment of germplasm as well as for characterization, conservation and successful species hybridization.14Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)[2006/61242-8]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FAPESP [05/51010-0][2006/61242-8

Studies on diversity and evolution of Iridaceae species in southern Brazil

Plants of the family Iridaceae are well represented in the grassland vegetation of southern Brazil, occurring in the Pampa and Atlantic Forest biomes. Nevertheless, little is known about the taxonomy and evolution of Iridaceae species in southern Brazil. The main goal of this review is to compile published information about South American Iridaceae, and to discuss the evolution and genetic diversity of the family presenting our own research data in the light of the published literature. The main focus is on the genera Calydorea, Cypella, Herbertia, and Sisyrinchium. Aspects of reproductive system and of pollinator attraction are also discussed