Efeito do sistema de irrigação por microaspersão em juvenis infectantes de Heterorhabditis baujardi LPP7 (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae)

Nematóides entomopatogênicos (NEPs) vêm sendo usados com sucesso como agentes do controle biológico de pragas de solo. Estudos anteriores mostraram que técnicas de aplicação e fatores abióticos (temperatura e pressão) afetam a eficiência dos NEPs em testes de campo e casa-de-vegetação. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência de condições geradas por um sistema de irrigação por microaspersão, na viabilidade, infectividade e na capacidade de busca de hospedeiros nos juvenis infectantes (JI) de Heterorhabditis baujardi LPP7 (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae). Dois experimentos foram propostos. A viabilidade dos juvenis infectantes (JI) foi avaliada no microscópio imediatamente após sua passagem pelo sistema de irrigação. A infectividade e a capacidade de busca pelo hospedeiro em larvas de Galleria mellonella foram avaliadas em vasos (Experimento 1). A campo (Experimento 2), foi avaliada a mortalidade de larvas de G. mellonella sob diferentes concentrações do nematóide (0, 100.000, 300.000 e 500.000 JI por árvore). A viabilidade, infectividade e a capacidade de busca dos nematóides após a passagem pelo sistema não foi diferente da testemunha. No Experimento 2, houve diferença entre os tratamentos (p < 0.05) e se observou maior mortalidade na maior concentração de nematóides, com mortalidade de 28,3% e 37% em cada uma das duas repetições do experimento. Este sistema de micro-aspersão não afeta a viabilidade, infectividade e capacidade de busca dos JIs de H. baujardi LPP7 até o inseto-alvo.Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are currently being used as successful biological control agents of soil-dwelling insect pests. Previous field and greenhouse studies demonstrated that application techniques and non-biotic factors (temperature and pressure) have a significant effect on EPNs efficacy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of an irrigation spray application system on the viability, infectivity and host search capability of Heterorhabditis baujardi LPP7 (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) infective juveniles (IJ). Two assays were proposed. Their viability was evaluated under the microscope after the IJ passed through the irrigation system. Infectivity on Galleria mellonella larvae, and host search capability, as evidenced by larval mortality, were evaluated in containers (Experiment 1). In the field (Experiment 2), mortality of G. mellonella larvae was evaluated under different nematode concentrations (0, 100,000, 300,000 and 500,000 IJ per tree). No differences were recorded on the viability, infectivity and host search capability of the IJ in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, differences were recorded among the different concentrations used (p < 0.05), and a higher mortality was observed at the highest nematode concentration (28.3% and 37% in each one of the two experiment repetitions). This irrigation system did not affected adversely the viability, infectivity and host search capability of H. baujardi LPP7

Divergência genética entre cultivares de capim-elefante avaliada por marcadores RAPD em amostras compostas

Elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) is native to regions of tropical Africa and was introduced in Brazil around 1920 through plantings imported from Cuba. It is currently one of the most widespread forage plants throughout the country. At first, there were two cultivars, Napier and Mercker, with well defined characteristics. New genotypes arose and it is believed that the large number of cultivars existing today in germplasm bank is due to duplicates. DNA markers for cultivar characterization are a very valuable tool, especially in situations where morphological and isoenzymatic markers have already been used as in the case of elephantgrass. Thus RAPD markers were used to estimate the genetic divergence among the Napier group elephantgrass cultivars from the elephantgrass Active Germplasm Bank at EMBRAPA Dairy Cattle. The polymerase chain reaction with 37 arbitrary primers from the OPERON Technologies series supplied 94 polymorphic and 73 monomorphic bands. From the matrix of complement of the Nei index, cluster analysis by the Tocher optimization method formed three clusters. Pearson correlation among genetic distance estimates obtained from the DNA markers and the isoenzymatic markers showed the consistency of both the methods in assessing genetic divergence among elephantgrass cultivars. No duplicates were found in the treatments assessed.O capim-elefante (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) é nativo de regiões da África Tropical e foi introduzido no Brasil por volta de 1920, por meio de mudas provenientes de Cuba, e é, atualmente, uma das forrageiras mais difundidas em todo o país. No início de sua utilização, existiam praticamente dois cultivares com características bem definidas, Napier e Mercker. Com o decorrer do tempo, surgiram novos genótipos e acredita-se que o grande número de cultivares existentes atualmente no Banco de Germoplasma da espécie se deva à ocorrência de duplicatas. O uso de marcadores de DNA na caracterização de cultivares constitui uma ferramenta de grande valor, principalmente em situações em que marcadores morfológicos e isoenzimáticos já foram empregados, caso do capim-elefante. Em vista disso, objetivou-se estimar a divergência genética entre cultivares de capim-elefante do grupo "Napier" provenientes do Banco Ativo de Germoplasma de capim-elefante da EMBRAPA Gado de Leite, por meio de marcadores RAPD. As reações de polimerase em cadeia com 37 iniciadores arbitrários da série OPERON Technologies proporcionaram 94 bandas polimórficas e 73 monomórficas. Por meio da matriz do complemento do índice de Nei, a análise de agrupamento pelo método de otimização de Tocher indicou a formação de três grupos. Correlação de Pearson entre estimativas de distância genética obtidas a partir dos marcadores de DNA e dos marcadores isoenzimáticos indicaram a consistência de ambos os métodos para a avaliação da divergência genética entre cultivares de capim-elefante. Não foram encontradas duplicatas nos tratamentos avaliados

Estimation of genetic parameters related to morphoagronomic and fruit quality traits of papaya

The estimation of genetic parameters allows an identification of the genetic variability in a population andunderlies the choice of the most suitable improvement methods. This study aimed to estimate the genetic parameters related tomorpho-agronomic and fruit quality traits in the following papaya genotypes: 16BC1S1, 52BC1S1, 115BC1S1, SS 72/12 x 4BC1,BC2, SS 783 and Golden. Based on the means and respective standard deviations and on the estimates of genetic parametersof the evaluated traits, it was concluded that selection in the segregating generations has great chances of success, in view ofthe wide genotypic variability among them, with values of H2 (coefficient of genotypic determination) of over 80% for mostevaluated phenotypic attributes. Considering the importance of the flowering and fruiting attributes, the high H2 indicates thatimprovement programs can achieve great increases in papaya yield

Assessment of coconut tree genetic divergence by compound sample RAPD marker analysis

ABSTRACT The coconut tree (Cocos nucifera L.) is a tropical species widely cultivated throughout the world, which is found in all intertropical regions. The species shows wide phenotypic variability, which, however, is little understood at the genetic level. This study of the variability among the various coconut tree populations is important to increase the efficiency of the development of superior cultivars adapted to different ecological conditions. It also helps the selection of divergent progenies that can maximize heterosis in hybridizations. Genetic divergence among 19 coconut tree populations available in the BAG -Coco at EMBRAPA/CPATC was estimated by RAPD. Leaf samples from 21 plants of each cultivar were squashed together (compound samples) in liquid nitrogen and the DNA extracted using the modified Doyle and Doyle (1990) protocol. Samples of these DNA were amplified with 24 primers of the OPERON Technologies series. One hundred and twenty-seven polymorphic and 61 monomorphic loci were obtained. Six different clusters, possibly heterotic groups, were formed by the Tocher optimized clustering analysis which used the matrix of the complement of the Jaccard index. Group 1 included the dwarf group cultivars. Giant accessions, abbreviated to GBR (Brazilian Giant), formed group 2, except GBRPF, which together with West African Giant (GOA) formed group 4. The most distant accession was the Tonga Giant cultivar (GTG) that did not group with the others and presents potential for hybridization with the six cultivars in the dwarf group cultivars and with the five in the GBR group. Group 3 consisted of GRL, GPY and GRT and Group 5 of GML and GVT. The dendrogram obtained by the nearest neighbor method was in line with the clustering obtained by the Tocher optimization method. The markers used permitted identification of each one of the populations showing that they were genetically different (absence of duplicity). The use of compound samples was effective to investigate the interpopulational genetic diversity. However, to understand the intrapopulation genetic variability, individual sampling should be used

Genetic divergence among elephantgrass cultivars assessed by RAPD markers in composit samples Divergência genética entre cultivares de capim-elefante avaliada por marcadores RAPD em amostras compostas

Elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) is native to regions of tropical Africa and was introduced in Brazil around 1920 through plantings imported from Cuba. It is currently one of the most widespread forage plants throughout the country. At first, there were two cultivars, Napier and Mercker, with well defined characteristics. New genotypes arose and it is believed that the large number of cultivars existing today in germplasm bank is due to duplicates. DNA markers for cultivar characterization are a very valuable tool, especially in situations where morphological and isoenzymatic markers have already been used as in the case of elephantgrass. Thus RAPD markers were used to estimate the genetic divergence among the Napier group elephantgrass cultivars from the elephantgrass Active Germplasm Bank at EMBRAPA Dairy Cattle. The polymerase chain reaction with 37 arbitrary primers from the OPERON Technologies series supplied 94 polymorphic and 73 monomorphic bands. From the matrix of complement of the Nei index, cluster analysis by the Tocher optimization method formed three clusters. Pearson correlation among genetic distance estimates obtained from the DNA markers and the isoenzymatic markers showed the consistency of both the methods in assessing genetic divergence among elephantgrass cultivars. No duplicates were found in the treatments assessed.O capim-elefante (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) é nativo de regiões da África Tropical e foi introduzido no Brasil por volta de 1920, por meio de mudas provenientes de Cuba, e é, atualmente, uma das forrageiras mais difundidas em todo o país. No início de sua utilização, existiam praticamente dois cultivares com características bem definidas, Napier e Mercker. Com o decorrer do tempo, surgiram novos genótipos e acredita-se que o grande número de cultivares existentes atualmente no Banco de Germoplasma da espécie se deva à ocorrência de duplicatas. O uso de marcadores de DNA na caracterização de cultivares constitui uma ferramenta de grande valor, principalmente em situações em que marcadores morfológicos e isoenzimáticos já foram empregados, caso do capim-elefante. Em vista disso, objetivou-se estimar a divergência genética entre cultivares de capim-elefante do grupo "Napier" provenientes do Banco Ativo de Germoplasma de capim-elefante da EMBRAPA Gado de Leite, por meio de marcadores RAPD. As reações de polimerase em cadeia com 37 iniciadores arbitrários da série OPERON Technologies proporcionaram 94 bandas polimórficas e 73 monomórficas. Por meio da matriz do complemento do índice de Nei, a análise de agrupamento pelo método de otimização de Tocher indicou a formação de três grupos. Correlação de Pearson entre estimativas de distância genética obtidas a partir dos marcadores de DNA e dos marcadores isoenzimáticos indicaram a consistência de ambos os métodos para a avaliação da divergência genética entre cultivares de capim-elefante. Não foram encontradas duplicatas nos tratamentos avaliados

HETEROTIC GROUP FORMATION IN PSIDIUM GUAJAVA L. BY ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK AND DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT The present study aimed at evaluating the heterotic group formation in guava based on quantitative descriptors and using artificial neural network (ANN). For such, we evaluated eight quantitative descriptors. Large genetic variability was found for the eight quantitative traits in the 138 genotypes of guava. The artificial neural network technique determined that the optimal number of groups was three. The grouping consistency was determined by linear discriminant analysis, which obtained classification percentage of the groups, with a value of 86 %. It was concluded that the artificial neural network method is effective to detect genetic divergence and heterotic group formation