Morphological variability of Mauritanian date-palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars as revealed by vegetative traits

The aim of this study was to use morphological markers to characterize twelve Mauritanian date-palm ecotypes currently grown by farmers. Eighteen phenotypic traits describing the vegetative systems were measured in the field in Atar Oasis. The data set was analyzed by principal components analysis (PCA) and UPGMA clustering. PCA revealed a great variability among the cultivars. Fourteen out of the 18 characters studied showed a high discriminating power suggesting their possible uses in the establishment of a Mauritanian date-palm catalogue. UPGMA Clustering revealed association between cultivars with similar fruit characteristics indicating that these ecotypes are morphologically related. Results also showed that individuals belonging to the Ahmar cultivar were morphologically distinct, suggesting it is likely a polyclonal variety

Analysis of Tunisian date palm germplasm using simple sequence repeat primers

Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers involve polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of DNA using a single primer composed of a microsatellite sequence. ISSR technology rapidly reveals high polymorphic fingerprints and determines genetic diversity. We used genetic markers generated from selected ISSR primers to assess genetic diversity among a set of Tunisian date palm varieties. Seven primers were used to cluster 12 date palm varieties and 77 polymorphic markers were sufficient to identify all of the varieties. These discrete molecular markers were used to estimate genetic distances among the 12 accessions and to examine their genetic relationships. Data analysis identified phenetic groups that were in agreement with those obtained according to agronomic traits and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Among the 12 simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs tested, the most abundant were AG. Key Words: Genetic diversity; ISSR polymorphisms; date palm; Pheonix dactylifera. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 3 (4), 2004: 215-21

Usos e significados da recreação na produção acadêmica

Frente à lacuna sobre o significado da recreação no presente, nosso objetivo foi caracterizar a produção acadêmica sobre recreação no Brasil. Para tanto, realizamos revisão sistemática em torno dos usos da recreação. Os estudos enfocam o valor instrumental e positivado da recreação em relação à educação e à promoção da saúde. Em conclusão, a recreação vem sendo empregada como ferramenta para agenciar o lúdico em algum aspecto da vida: metodologia lúdica para alcançar determinado enfoque educativo ou terapêutico; rol de brincadeiras e jogos visando ao entretenimento; dispositivo de poder, para distração das massas

Prática como componente curricular na formação inicial do bacharel em educação física

Introdução: As Práticas como Componente Curricular (PCC) no curso de bacharelado em Educação Física procuram aproximar o acadêmico da dimensão teórico-prática para fortalecer a sua formação acadêmica, sendo vivenciada nos diferentes contextos profissionais em que poderá vir a atuar. Objetivo: Este estudo objetivou analisar as contribuições que a Prática como Componente Curricular (PCC) promove para a formação acadêmico/profissional do bacharel em Educação Física. Métodos: Caracteriza-se como pesquisa qualitativa do tipo analítica descritiva. A amostra foi composta de 24 acadêmicos do último período de bacharelado em Educação Física de uma Instituição Pública e outros 54 de Instituição Privada do Estado do Paraná. Utilizou-se como instrumento de coleta de dados um questionário estruturado com duas questões abertas. Os dados foram submetidos à técnica de análise de conteúdo, proposta por Bardin (2011), sendo categorizados e apresentados em forma de quadros. Resultados: Os resultados da Instituição Pública e Instituição Privada destacaram contribuições positivas, sobretudo: a) as potencialidades da formação acadêmica; b) ampliação das capacidades na formação profissional; c) estímulo da capacidade de cooperação para a composição de equipes. Enquanto as não contribuições assinalam que a PCC de algumas disciplinas não estão ocorrendo conforme o proposto em seu Projeto Politico Pedagógico, configurando ausência de planejamento e do envolvimento de alguns docentes na organização do processo da PCC, situação em que parte dos bacharéis acaba não identificando o sentido profissional da PCC ora pelas características superficiais apresentadas no processo formativo, ora por dificuldade pessoal de se adequar ao sistema. Conclusão: Conclui-se que essas limitações implicam processos formativos típicos para os bacharéis que vivenciam a Prática como componente curricular ao longo do curso. ABSTRACT. Practice as a curricular component in the initial training of the graduate in physical education. Backgorund: The practices as a Curricular Component (PCC) in the bachelor degree course in Physical Education aim to bring the college students from the theoretical-practical dimension to strengthen their academic training, being experienced in the different professional contexts in which they may work. Objective: To analyze the contributions that provide the student/ professional with training of the bachelor in Physical Education. Methods: It is characterized as qualitative research of descriptive analytical type. The sample consisted of 24 college students from the last semester in Physical Education degree of a public institution and another 54 from a private institution in the state of Paraná. A survey structured with two open questions was used as a data collection instrument. The data were submitted to the technique of content analysis proposed by Bardin (2011), then being categorized and presented in the form of tables. Results: The results of the Public Institution and Private Institution showed positive contributions, above all: a) the potential of the academic formation; b) capacity building in vocational training; c) stimulation of the capacity of cooperation for the composition of teams. While the non-contributions indicate that the PCC of some disciplines is not taking place according to the one proposed in its political-pedagogical project, it means a lack of planning and the involvement of some teachers in the organization of the PCC process, in which part of the graduates end up not identifying the professional sense of the PCC, or the superficial characteristics presented in the training process, or because of the personal difficulty of adapting to the system. Conclusion: It is concluded that these limitations imply typical training processes for the graduates who experience the practices throughout the course.

L'intégration de l'ethnobotanique et de la génétique des populations met en évidence l'agrobiodiversité des palmiers dattiers de l'oasis de Siwa (Égypte) et leur importance pour l'histoire évolutive de l'espèce.

Crop diversity is shaped by biological and social processes interacting at different spatiotemporal scales. Here we combined population genetics and ethnobotany to investigate date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) diversity in Siwa Oasis, Egypt. Based on interviews with farmers and observation of practices in the field, we collected 149 date palms from Siwa Oasis and 27 uncultivated date palms from abandoned oases in the surrounding desert. Using genotyping data from 18 nuclear and plastid microsatellite loci, we confirmed that some named types each constitute a clonal line, i.e. a true-to-type cultivar. We also found that others are collections of clonal lines, i.e. ethnovarieties, or even unrelated samples, i.e. local categories. This alters current assessments of agrobiodiversity, which are visibly underestimated, and uncovers the impact of low-intensity, but highly effective, farming practices on biodiversity. These hardly observable practices, hypothesized by ethnographic survey and confirmed by genetic analysis, are enabled by the way Isiwans conceive and classify living beings in their oasis, which do not quite match the way biologists do: a classic disparity of etic vs. emic categorizations. In addition, we established that Siwa date palms represent a unique and highly diverse genetic cluster, rather than a subset of North African and Middle Eastern palm diversity. As previously shown, North African date palms display evidence of introgression by the wild relative Phoenix theophrasti, and we found that the uncultivated date palms from the abandoned oases share even more alleles with this species than cultivated palms in this region. The study of Siwa date palms could hence be a key to the understanding of date palm diversification in North Africa. Integration of ethnography and population genetics promoted the understanding of the interplay between diversity management in the oasis (short-time scale), and the origins and dynamic of diversity through domestication and diversification (long-time scale)

Assessing Molecular Signature for Some Potential Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Cultivars from Saudi Arabia, Based on Chloroplast DNA Sequences rpoB and psbA-trnH

Phoenix dactylifera L. (date palm), being economically very important, is widely cultivated in the Middle East and North Africa, having about 400 different cultivars. Assessment of date cultivars under trading and farming is a widely accepted problem owing to lack of a unique molecular signature for specific date cultivars. In the present study, eight different cultivars of dates viz., Khodry, Khalas, Ruthana, Sukkari, Sefri, Segae, Ajwa and Hilali were sequenced for rpoB and psbA-trnH genes and analyzed using bioinformatics tools to establish a cultivar-specific molecular signature. The combined aligned data matrix was of 1147 characters, of which invariable and variable sites were found to be 958 and 173, respectively. The analysis clearly reveals three major groups of these cultivars: (i) Khodary, Sefri, Ajwa, Ruthana and Hilali (58% BS); (ii) Sukkari and Khalas (64% BS); and (iii) Segae. The economically most important cultivar Ajwa showed similarity with Khodary and Sefri (67% BS).The sequences of the date cultivars generated in the present study showed bootstrap values between 38% and 70% so these sequences could be carefully used as molecular signature for potential date cultivars under trading and selection of genuine cultivars at the seedling stage for farming

Assessment of Genetic Diversity of Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) Using ISSR Markers

Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) is a major turfgrass for home lawns, public parks, golf courses and sport fields and is known to have originated in the Middle East. Morphological and physiological characteristics are not sufficient to differentiate some bermudagrass genotypes because the differences between them are often subtle and subjected to environmental influences. In this study, twenty seven bermudagrass accessions and introductions, mostly from different parts of Iran, were assayed by inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers to differentiate and explore their genetic relationships. Fourteen ISSR primers amplified 389 fragments of which 313 (80.5%) were polymorphic. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.328, which shows that the majority of primers are informative. Cluster analysis using the un-weighted paired group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA) method and Jaccard’s similarity coefficient (r = 0.828) grouped the accessions into six main clusters according to some degree to geographical origin, their chromosome number and some morphological characteristics. It can be concluded that there exists a wide genetic base of bermudograss in Iran and that ISSR markers are effective in determining genetic diversity and relationships among them