Caracterização de recursos genéticos de Butia odorata no Bioma Pampa

Abstract

Butia odorata (Barb. Rodr.) Noblick is one of 266 palm species that occur in Brazil. The plants produces fruits that are used for food, both fresh and processed (as jellies, ice creams, juices and liqueurs). It has high potential as energy source due to the oils cointained in the seeds. The leaves are rich in fibers, and are used in the crafting of decorative and utilitarian objects. However, natural populations suffer intense human activity, mainly as a result of land use for agriculture and urban expansion. Moreover, even in certain areas remaining, pressure by grazing cattle has restricted the regeneration, leaving only adult plants. With the aim of contributing to the knowledge related to genetic resources of B. odorata in Pampa Biome, field activities were developed at São Miguel Farm (Tapes, RS), morphological and molecular analyzes were done in Genetic Resources and Molecular Biology labs of Embrapa Temperate Agriculture (Pelotas, RS), and a morphological descriptors minimum list was developed at Bioversity International (Rome / Maccarese, Italy). The results are presented in four articles. The first article aimed to evaluate the implementation of microsatellite markers developed for coconut in the butiá. A total of 50 primer pairs in 30 individuals of butiá collected in three separate areas were tested in a natural population. Among 50 primer pairs evaluated, 28 amplified, and eight of them showed unspecific bands and were not considered in the statistical analysis. The transferability of primers tested was 40%, indicating that these microsatellite markers developed for the coconut genome can be successfully used for genetic analysis in pindo palm. The objective of the second article was to evaluate the genetic structure of a natural population of B. odorata. We evaluated 303 plants using 20 pairs of SSR primers. High genetic variability was observed, with higher molecular variation among individuals within each area than among those from different areas. The observed heterozygosity was lower than expected, indicating the occurrence of inbreeding. The third area of plants have genetic structure due to the action of gene flow and / or genetic drift. The third article discusses the variability of B. odorata based on comparisons between scientific and popular. As morphological descriptors important for the characterization of germplasm were the following characteristics: habit of the leaves, stem circumference, leaf color, color of male flowers, number of bunches per plant, mature fruit color, fruit shape, presence of fibers in the pulp, fruit diameter, flowering and fruiting time. In turn, farmers use usually a lower number of traits to distinguish different plants: fruit size, number of bunches per plant, presence of fibers in the pulp, flavor and color of the fruit. The results presented in the third article were used for the preparation of the fourth article, which is the minimum list of morphological descriptors for the characterization of germplasm of B. odorata.