Edson Barcelos

Genetic diversity and relationship in American and African oil palm as revealed by RFLP and AFLP molecular markers

Abstract – The objective of this work was to evaluate the genetic diversity, its organization and thegenetic relationships within oil palm ( Elaeis oleifera (Kunth) Cortes, from America, and E. guineensis(Jacq.), from Africa) germplasm using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and AmplifiedFragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP). In complement to a previous RFLP study on 241 E. oleiferaaccessions, 38 E. guineensis accessions were analyzed using the same 37 cDNA probes. These accessionscovered a large part of the geographical distribution areas of these species in America and Africa. Inaddition, AFLP analysis was performed on a sub-set of 40 accessions of E. oleifera and 22 of E. guineensisusing three pairs of enzyme/primer combinations. Data were subjected to Factorial Analysis ofCorrespondence (FAC) and cluster analysis, with parameters of genetic diversity being also studied.Results appeared congruent between RFLP and AFLP. In the E. oleifera, AFLP confirmed the strongstructure of genetic diversity revealed by RFLP, according to geographical origin of the studied material,with the identification of the same four distinct genetic groups: Brazil, French Guyana/Surinam, Peru,north of Colombia/Central America. Both markers revealed that genetic divergence between the twospecies is of the same magnitude as that among provenances of E. oleifera. This finding is in discrepancywith the supposed early tertiary separation of the two species.Index terms: Elaeis oleifera, Elaeis guineensis, population genetics, palm species, genetic resources,molecular chacterization.Diversidade e relacao genetica entre o dende americano e o africanorevelada por marcadores moleculares do tipo RFLP e AFLPResumo – O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a diversidade genetica, sua organizacao e a relacaogenetica no germoplasma de dende ( Elaeis oleifera (Kunth) Cortes, de origem americana, e E. guineensis(Jacq.), africana), pelas tecnicas de Polimorfismo de Comprimento de Fragmentos de Restricao (RestrictionFragment Length Polymorphism – RFLP) e Polimorfismo de Comprimento de Fragmentos Amplificados(Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism – AFLP). Em complemento a um estudo previo de RFLPem 241 acessos de E. oleifera, 38 acessos de E. guineensis foram analisados usando as mesmas 37sondas de cDNA. Os acessos estudados cobrem uma grande parte da area de distribuicao geograficadestas duas especies nos continentes Americano e Africano, respectivamente. Alem disso, analises commarcadores AFLP foram realizadas em uma subamostra com 40 acessos de E. oleifera e 22 de E. guineensis,empregando tres combinacoes de pares enzima/primer. Os dados foram submetidos a analise fatorial decorrespondencia (AFC) e analise de cluster, sendo tambem estimados parâmetros de diversidade genetica.Os resultados obtidos apresentaram grande coerencia entre as duas tecnicas utilizadas, RFLP e AFLP.Na especie E. oleifera, a tecnica AFLP confirmou a forte estruturacao da diversidade genetica reveladapela tecnica de RFLP, de acordo com a origem geografica do material estudado e com a identificacao dosmesmos quatro grupos geneticos distintos: Brasil, Guiana Francesa/Suriname, Peru e norte da Colombia/America Central. Entretanto, ambos os marcadores revelaram que a divergencia entre as duas especiese da mesma magnitude da divergencia dentro da especie americana. Este resultado esta em discrepânciacom uma suposta separacao das duas especies durante a era terciaria.Termos para indexacao: Elaeis oleifera , Elaeis guineensis , genetica de populacao, palmeiras, recursosgeneticos, caracterizacao molecular.

Oil palm natural diversity and the potential for yield improvement

African oil palm has the highest productivity amongst cultivated oleaginous crops. Species can constitute a single crop capable to fulfill the growing global demand for vegetable oils, which is estimated to reach 240 million tons by 2050. Two types of vegetable oil are extracted from the palm fruit on commercial scale. The crude palm oil and kernel palm oil have different fatty acid profiles, which increases versatility of the crop in industrial applications. Plantations of the current varieties have economic life-span around 25–30 years and produce fruits around the year. Thus, predictable annual palm oil supply enables marketing plans and adjustments in line with the economic forecasts. Oil palm cultivation is one of the most profitable land uses in the humid tropics. Oil palm fruits are the richest plant source of pro-vitamin A and vitamin E. Hence, crop both alleviates poverty, and could provide a simple practical solution to eliminate global pro-vitamin A deficiency. Oil palm is a perennial, evergreen tree adapted to cultivation in biodiversity rich equatorial land areas. The growing demand for the palm oil threatens the future of the rain forests and has a large negative impact on biodiversity. Plant science faces three major challenges to make oil palm the key element of building the future sustainable world. The global average yield of 3.5 tons of oil per hectare (t) should be raised to the full yield potential estimated at 11–18t. The tree architecture must be changed to lower labor intensity and improve mechanization of the harvest. Oil composition should be tailored to the evolving needs of the food, oleochemical and fuel industries. The release of the oil palm reference genome sequence in 2013 was the key step toward this goal. The molecular bases of agronomically important traits can be and are beginning to be understood at the single base pair resolution, enabling gene-centered breeding and engineering of this remarkable crop.

Contribution of the institutions in the Northern region of Brazil to the development of plant cultivars and their impact on agriculture

This paper describes the development of breeding programs in northern Brazil and their main impacts on agriculture. Their contribution to the breeding of the species palm oil, acai fruit, cacao, cupuacu, guarana, tomato, camu-camu, cocona, peach palm, and rubber was laid out in detail. Advances in breeding programs of institutions such as Embrapa, Ceplac, Inpa, and Universities require investments in infrastructure and in human and financial resources to ensure continuity and efficiency in economic, social and environmental gains. The improvement of native species, the main focus of the breeding programs of the institutions in the Northern region of Brazil, is a form of exploiting the Amazonian biodiversity for the benefit of society. Therefore, policies to foster research institutions should be a subject of deliberation and action of the scientific and technological community in Brazil.