Abstract Euterpe edulis is an endemic species of the Atlantic Forest that is threatened by the unsustainable exploitation of palm heart. Fruit management is an alternative to overcome this problem, promoting income generation, preserving the trees in forest remnants and motivating the implementation of farms for commercial production. In this study, the genetic diversity and structure of four natural populations of E. edulis were evaluated using microsatellite markers and six morphological fruit traits, analyzed with and without the REML/BLUP method. The longitudinal diameter had the strongest influence on the differentiation of genotypes. The genetic differentiation among populations was low and inbreeding was detected within populations among sites. Molecular and morphological data indicated high genetic diversity in the E. edulis populations. The REML/BLUP analysis increased the accuracy of morphology-based estimates of genetic diversity, thus contributing to improve breeding strategies for fruit quality and genetic conservation by use in E. edulis.

Resumo Euterpe edulis (palmiteiro-juçara) é uma arbórea de porte alto que ocorre naturalmente em florestas da Mata Atlântica e Cerrado. Por estas características é difícil coletar folhas jovens, sadias e frescas para obtenção de DNA genômico de boa qualidade para a espécie, necessárias para estudos de biologia molecular. Visando facilitar coletas a campo de material biológico, neste estudo foi proposto o isolamento de DNA a partir de tecidos vegetais do córtex. Foi comparado o DNA genômico obtido a partir de dois tipos de tecido vegetal, sendo estes, folhas jovens oriundas de mudas e do córtex de plantas adultas. A integridade do DNA obtido foi confirmada por eletroforese, revelando DNA genômico com pouca degradação e a qualidade da purificação foi verificada pelos critérios de razões de absorbâncias de 260/280 nm e 260/230 nm, apresentando padrão similar nos dois tipos de tecidos avaliados. As concentrações de DNA em folha variaram de 81,9 a 310,1 ng/μL, e no córtex, de 105,2 a 404,8 ng/μL. A confirmação da qualidade do DNA obtido foi determinada por amplificação de microssatélites nos quais os produtos apresentaram bandas definidas para os dois materiais vegetais. Assim, o DNA genômico isolado a partir do córtex de Euterpe edulis constitui um tecido vegetal adicional para obtenção de DNA genômico de igual qualidade, quantidade e integridade que o obtido de folhas, com a vantagem da coleta ser facilitada a campo.

Abstract Euterpe edulis is an arboreal species of high size that occurs naturally in the Atlantic Forest and in ‘Cerrado’ forests. For these characteristics, it is difficult to collect young, healthy and fresh leaves to obtain the genomic DNA of sufficient quality for the species, required for molecular biology studies. To facilitate the collection of biological material field, this study proposed the isolation from plant tissue in the cortex. Isolation and analyzes were carried out compared with the DNA obtained from young leaves coming from plants and tissue of the cortex of adult plants. The integrity of the DNA obtained was confirmed by electrophoresis, revealing the genomic DNA degradation and the low quality of the purification was checked by absorbance ratios criteria 260/280 nm and 260/230 nm, with a similar pattern in both types of tissues evaluated. DNA concentrations ranged from 81.9 to 310.1 ng/µl and cortex, from 105.2 to 404.8 ng/µl. The confirmation of the quality of the DNA obtained was determined by microsatellite amplification, where the products showed bands defined for both plant materials. Thus, the genomic DNA isolated from the cortex of Euterpe edulis, constitutes an additional plant tissue to obtain a genomic DNA of equal quality, quantity and integrity of the obtained sheets with the advantage of the collecting being facilitated in the field.

ABSTRACT DNA fingerprinting based on SSR amplification profiles was applied to native species of Piper from the Atlantic Forest to compare the utility of this type of molecular marker with the morphological characters traditionally applied in Piper taxonomy and identification. Fifty-one SSR markers developed for four species of Piper native to Asia and Mesoamerica were applied to 16 species, together with 63 morphological characters, for species characterization. Molecular and morphological data were analysed by cluster analysis, followed by a cluster sharpness test and the construction of a heat map to visualize the association of characters with species groups. A multivariate regression tree determined the number of loci needed for species identification. Forty-five primers were transferable to at least four species. Molecular data were more efficient in detecting sharp groups than morphological data. Species groups delimited by a set of shared morphological characters were differentiated based on molecular data. The sixteen studied species could be separated by nine primers, demonstrating the cross-species transferability of SSR markers and the usefulness of DNA fingerprinting for both the delimitation and the identification of species of Piper.