Ana Aparecida Bandini Rossi

Distyly and variation in floral traits in natural populations of Psychotria ipecacuanha (Brot.) Stokes (Rubiaceae)

Psychotria ipecacuanha e uma especie medicinal que se desenvolve em agregados perenes, denominados reboleiras, em areas umidas e sombrias no sub-bosque da Floresta Atlântica. O presente trabalho caracterizou a variacao de atributos florais em 35 reboleiras de tres populacoes naturais desta especie. Observacoes de campo mostraram que as reboleiras sao isomorficas, isto e, apresentam apenas uma forma floral (brevistila ou longistila). Estigmas e anteras estao posicionados reciprocamente em cada forma floral, um dimorfismo caracteristico de distilia. As populacoes sao isopleticas, isto e, apresentam razao equilibrada (1:1) entre as formas florais. Analises comparativas da morfometria floral revelaram que, independente da populacao investigada, as flores brevistilas apresentaram maiores medias de comprimento da antera, comprimento do estigma, diâmetro da corola e diâmetro do grao de polen. Flores brevistilas apresentaram diferencas interpopulacionais significativas com relacao aos atributos florais investigados. Flores da forma longistila tambem apresentaram diferencas interpopulacionais significativas, exceto quanto a altura dos estigmas e ao comprimento da corola. Polinizacoes controladas conduzidas em condicoes naturais mostraram que a producao de frutos foi maior apos polinizacao legitima. Porem, observacoes de crescimento de tubos polinicos juntamente com a producao de frutos apos autopolinizacao espontânea e polinizacao ilegitima sugerem que a especie apresenta compatibilidade parcial intraforma.

Clonal diversity and conservation genetics of the medicinal plant Carapichea ipecacuanha (Rubiaceae)

The roots of the understorey shrub Carapichea ipecacuanha (ipecac) have medicinal properties, and the uprooting of wild plants has supplied most of the world demand for this species. Although under severe population decline, C. ipecacuanha lacks legal protection. In the wild, the aerial stems of ipecac clump together to form clusters with well-defined borders. Cluster size may range from several to hundreds of aerial stems. To investigate the extent of clonality among aerial stems in ipecac clusters, we sampled 50 wild clusters (a total of 291 aerial stems) and screened them with 89 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. The 291 aerial stems were grouped into 42 putative clones. The clonal groups generally consisted of aerial stems from the same cluster, and there was little or no genetic differentiation among aerial stems at the cluster level. These findings suggest that strategies designed to conserve ipecac in situ should not rely upon census data, which are based on the number of aerial stems per cluster and the number of clusters per population, because such data greatly underestimate the species effective population size and genetic diversity. Our results also indicate that this species needs protection at a federal level.

Molecular phylogeography of Carapichea ipecacuanha, an amphitropical shrub that occurs in the understory of both semideciduous and evergreen forests.

The medicinal shrub Carapichea ipecacuanha (ipecac) is an amphitropic species with three disjunct areas of distribution. In the Brazilian Atlantic and Amazonian ranges, the species was associated mostly with the understory of seasonal semideciduous forests, whereas in the Central American–Colombian range, the species occurred in the understory of moist evergreen forests. We examined the phylogeographic structure of ipecac using chloroplast trnT‐trnL and nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences from 120 and 46 specimens, respectively. To complement existing data on root alkaloid profiles, we used high‐performance liquid chromatography to assess the levels of emetine and cephaeline in 33 specimens from the two Brazilian ranges. The three ranges shared neither nuclear nor chloroplast haplotypes. The phylogeographic structures showed an uneven distribution of genetic diversity, sharp breaks and high levels of genetic differentiation among ranges. Our results suggest that the extant populations are descendents of at least four distinct ancestral lineages. The Atlantic ipecacs showed higher levels of genetic diversity than ipecacs from the other two ranges; it is likely that they derive from two ancestral lineages, with long‐term persistence in that region. The Amazonian ipecacs were monomorphic with respect to the ITS and cpDNA sequences, which supports the view that there was a recent expansion from a single parental source after a strong genetic bottleneck. The existence of a fourth distinct lineage is apparent from the high levels of genetic and chemical differentiation that we identified in the Central American–Columbian ipecacs.

CARACTERIZAÇÃO BIOMÉTRICA DE FRUTOS E SEMENTES DE MURICI (Byrsonima crassifólia L.) NA REGIÃO NORTE DO MATO GROSSO, BRASIL

Byrsonima crassifolia L. is a species that widely occurs in some Brazilian states and surrounding countries. They are typical cerrado trees that have characteristic tropical fruits, which are widely eaten by humans and wild animals. B. crassifolia can potentially be eaten raw or used to manufacture food items such as sweets, juices, ice cream, and jellies. The present study aimed to biometrically characterize fruit and seeds of the muricizeiro genotype that are grown within the urban perimeter of the Alta Floresta-MT municipality, and to determine the characteristics that identify superior quality fruits. Biometric characterization of 400 fruits and 400 seeds from 20 B. crassifolia genotypes was performed, using 20 replicates. The following variables were evaluated: fruit length, fruit thickness, seed length, seed width, seed thickness, fruit volume, brix, pulp thickness, fruit mass, seed mass, and pulp mass. Biometric characteristic analysis was performed via morphological characterization of the fruits and seeds, frequency distribution, and estimation of the correlation coefficient between the characteristics evaluated. The murici fruit and seeds showed variations in most of the biometric characteristics evaluated, and there were positive and negative correlations. The obtaining of fruits with greater amount of mass represents an economic potential. Making it possible to select them from the width measurement (LF) still in the field.

DIVERSIDADE GENÉTICA E ESTRUTURA POPULACIONAL DE JATOBÁ: UMA ESPÉCIE COM POTENCIAL ECONÔMICO PARA A AMAZÔNIA

Jatoba ( Hymenaea courbaril L.) is a species that shows ecological importance and occurs in different geographic regions in Brazil. Knowing and evaluating the existence of places with higher genetic variability can help in conservation programs and actions. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity and structure in natural populations of Jatoba with occurrence in Mato-Grosso Amazon through ISSR markers. Fifty-four individuals were sampled in three populations, being one in the municipality of Marcelândia (MA=24) and two in the municipality of Alta Floresta (Comunidade Central AF=17 and Pista do Cabeca PC=13 individuals). Total genomic DNA was extracted from the leaf tissue by the CTAB method. The 54 individuals were genotyped with 10 ISSR primers. A total of 110 fragments were amplified, being 78.2% polymorphic. The greatest diversity indices were found in the population from MA (H=0.25; I=0.37 and %P=65.45). The genetic distance was higher among the populations of the two municipalities (0.17 between MA and AF; 0.16 between MA and PC). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that 31.79 % of the total variance is among populations and 68.21 % within populations. There is genetic diversity in native populations of Jatoba in Mato-Grosso Amazon. We recommend that individuals from both populations are preserved, in order to ensure the maintenance of genetic variability and the effective conservation of species in Mato-Grosso Amazon.