Abstract Resistant cacao genotypes are the best measure to control the Witches' broom disease of cacao. To ensure efficiency, the pathogen variability in the cacao region of Bahia must be investigated. The pathogenic variability of Moniliophthora perniciosa inocula from nine municipalities was analyzed: Ilhéus, Floresta Azul and Jussari (agroecological zone Almada); Ipiaú, Itagibá and Jitaúna (agroecological zone Ipiaú), Camacan, Santa Luzia and Pau Brasil (agroecological zone Camacan), by inoculating progenies of Sca 6, ICS 1 and SIC 23 seedlings with 2 x 105 basidiospore.mL-1 of inocula and inoculum mixtures per agroecological zone, in a factorial 3 x 13 design, with 4 replications of 28 plants, in two seasons. Symptoms were assessed 60 days after inoculation. Pathogenic variability of inoculum in relation to the progeny performance was found; Ipiaú was the most aggressive and progeny ICS 1 the most susceptible. The mixtures of the agroecological zones Almada and Ipiaú were contrasting.

The phytopathogenic fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa (Stahel) Aime & Philips-Mora, causal agent of witches' broom disease of cocoa, causes countless damage to cocoa production in Brazil. Molecular studies have attempted to identify genes that play important roles in fungal survival and virulence. In this study, sequences deposited in the M. perniciosa Genome Sequencing Project database were analyzed to identify potential biological targets. For the first time, the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway in M. perniciosa was studied and the lanosterol 14α-demethylase gene (ERG11) that encodes the main enzyme of this pathway and is a target for fungicides was cloned, characterized molecularly and its phylogeny analyzed. ERG11 genomic DNA and cDNA were characterized and sequence analysis of the ERG11 protein identified highly conserved domains typical of this enzyme, such as SRS1, SRS4, EXXR and the heme-binding region (HBR). Comparison of the protein sequences and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the M. perniciosa enzyme was most closely related to that of Coprinopsis cinerea.

Cacau foi introduzido na Bahia em 1756, tornando-se posteriormente o estado maior produtor no país. Visando dar suporte ao plantio de cacau na região, um programa de melhoramento foi estabelecido pelo CEPEC no início dos anos 1970. Por longo tempo, o programa consistiu em testar novos híbridos (irmãos completos) e distribuir uma mistura dos melhores para os produtores. Posteriormente, particularmente após a chegada da vassoura-de-bruxa à região, em 1989, estratégias de melhoramento recorrente foram implementadas visando principalmente o desenvolvimento de clones. De 1993 a 2010, mais de 500 progênies, acumulando mais de 30 mil árvores, foram desenvolvidas por cruzamento de muitos progenitores com resistência à vassoura-de-bruxa, alta produção e outros caracteres. Neste período, mais de 500 clones foram colocados em ensaios e 39 deles e três híbridos foram recomendados para os produtores. Neste artigo as estratégias e os resultados obtidos pelo programa são revistos. De modo geral o programa tem boa interface com os programas de fitopatologia e genômica.

Cacao was introduced in Bahia in 1756, becoming later the largest producer state in the country. In order to support the planting of cacao in the region, a breeding program was established by CEPEC at the beginning of the 1970s. For a long time, the program consisted in testing new hybrids (full-sibs) and releasing a mixture of the best ones to farmers. Lately, particularly after the witches´ broom arrival in the region, in 1989, recurrent breeding strategies were implemented, aiming mainly the development of clones. From 1993 to 2010, more than 500 progenies, accumulating 30 thousand trees, were developed by crossing many parents with resistance to witches´ broom, high yield and other traits. In this period, more than 500 clones were put in trials and 39 clones and 3 hybrids were released to farmers. In this paper the strategies and results achieved by the program are reviewed. Overall the program has good interface with pathology and genomic programs.

A extração e amplificação de DNA são etapas fundamentais para a aplicação de métodos moleculares e para tal, a origem do material é relevante. As espécies do gênero Camarotella que causam as lixas do coqueiro e outras palmeiras são biotróficas e o crescimento em meio artificial é controverso, embora Oliveira et. al, (2004) tenham registrado seu cultivo in vitro, utilizando meio líquido completo. No entanto, não ficou provado que o micélio formado correspondia ao micélio de Camarotella. Em conseqüência das dificuldades com o cultivo dos agentes etiológicos das lixas, foi otimizado um protocolo para extração de DNA genômico a partir do himênio ascógeno in natura e um protocolo de PCR para sua amplificação. Nossos resultados são importantes para o estudo da família Phyllachoraceae, pois possibilitará a análise molecular que, nessa família, é limitada pela dificuldade de obtenção de DNA.

This work aimed to optimize an efficient and simple protocol for DNA extraction of Camarotella species, an obligate plant pathogen that cause verrucosis or "lixa" on coconut tree and other palms, facilitating the molecular studies of these biotrophic microorganisms. The method proposed enabled a fast, reproducible and reliable DNA extraction from Camarotella species.

A diversidade genética em cacau (Theobroma cacao L.), embasada em dados morfológicos e em marcadores moleculares, tem sido avaliada com fins de manejo de germoplasma e uso no melhoramento genético. Dados de genealogia de cacau, embora disponíveis, não têm sido utilizados. Foi analisada a diversidade genética em uma amostra de 30 acessos clonais de cacau da série CEPEC, com base em marcadores RAPD e informações de genealogia. Vinte destes acessos são descendentes de TSA-644, material Alto Amazônico, e os dez restantes, derivados de outros cruzamentos envolvendo materiais Amazônicos e Trinitários. Para obtenção dos marcadores RAPD foram utilizados 16 primers e as informações de pedigree obtidas no "International Cocoa Genetic Database". A diversidade genética encontrada foi relativamente baixa, devido ao grande relacionamento genético entre a maioria dos materiais estudados. Verificaram-se nos acessos descendentes de TSA-644 maior diversidade, o que pode ser atribuído à origem deste parental, derivado de um cruzamento entre acessos altamente divergentes. O nível de associação entre similaridades genéticas e coeficientes de paternidade (COP), foi muito baixo, provavelmente devido à homogeneidade do material estudados quanto à genealogia. Os resultados obtidos neste trabalho podem auxiliar na definição de novos cruzamentos para o desenvolvimento de híbridos ou variedades clonais.

Genetic diversity in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) has been assessed based on morphological and molecular markers for germplasm management and breeding purposes. Pedigree data is available in cocoa but it has not been used for assessing genetic relatedness. The geneitic diversity of 30 clonal cocoa accessions resistant to witche´ broom disease, from the CEPEC series, were studied on the basis of RAPD data and pedigree information. Twenty of these accessions descend from the TSA-644 clone, originated from a cross between the Upper Amazon germplasm called Scavina-6, the main source of resistance to witches' broom disease, and IMC-67. The ten remaining clones come from different sources including Amazon and Trinitario germplasm. RAPD data was collected using 16 primers and pedigree information was obtained from the International Cocoa Germplasm Database. Genetic similarities, genetic distances and coefficient of parentage were calculated using available software. Relatively low genetic diversity was observed in this germplasm set, probably because of great genetic relatedness amongst accessions studied and the poor representation of the germplasm. The TSA-644 descendants were more diverse than the other accessions used in the study. This might be due to the origin of the TSA clone, which was derived from highly divergent genotypes. Association between genetic similarities based on RAPD data and coefficient of parentage, based on pedigree data, was very low, probably due to the homogeneity of the breeding stocks and poor pedigree information. These findings are useful to cocoa breeders in planning crosses for the development of hybrid and clonal cultivars.