Abstract Lychnophora pinaster, known as arnica-mineira, is endemic to campos rupestres, at risk of extinction. The present study aimed to characterize the ecogeography and phenolic constituents of 11 L. pinaster populations collected in the mesoregions North, Jequitinhonha, Metropolitan of Belo Horizonte and Campos das Vertentes in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Phenolic constituents were identified and quantified by Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography- mass spectrometry. Lychnophora pinaster occurs in sites at high altitude (700 and 1498 m), annual rainfall of up to 1455 m, soils with low fertility and predominantly loamy texture. Therefore, it can be considered tolerant to acidic soils, with low availability of nutrient. The most abundant substances in all populations were vitexin (18 – 1345 ng/g) and chlorogenic acid (60 – 767 ng/g). The 11 populations formed four groups in relation to the phenolic constituents, with group 1 consisting of the populations of the North Mesoregion (GM, OD) and Jetiquinhonha (DIMa), group 2, the Metropolitan of Belo Horizonte (SRM, NLSC, SM, RPS, CTRA), group 3, the North Mesoregion (ODMa and DI), and group 4, the Campos das Vertentes (CC). Among the populations, only those from the Metropolitan of Belo Horizonte showed correlation of soil properties with phenolic constituents.

Abstract: Stable isotopes have been widely used in the literature both to discuss current ocean circulation processes, as well as to reconstitute paleoceanographic parameters. The distribution of oxygen and deuterium stable isotopes in seawater (δ18Osw and δDsw) at the Western Tropical South Atlantic border was investigated to better understand the main fractionation processes of these isotopes and establish a regional salinity and δ18Osw relation to improve the paleoceanographic knowledge in the region. This study was conducted during a quasi-synoptic oceanographic cruise in which 98 discrete seawater samples were collected in the core of the main water masses for stable isotope analysis. A strong correlation between δ18Osw and δD was found, which made it possible to extrapolate the results for δ18Osw to δD. Although it was not possible to distinguish the water masses based only on their isotopic signatures, the water masses had a strong salinity and δ18Osw relation, and compared with previous studies, a seasonal pattern was observed. Paleosalinity differences of up to 0.2 psu between Summer and Winter are reported. Considering the limitations of the current techniques to seasonally separate the samples for the paleoceanographic studies, an intermediate Mixing Line for the Tropical South Atlantic (SSS = 1.942* δ18Osw + 34.56) was proposed to reduce the estimated errors associated with these seasonal variations.

Abstract Although manioc is well adapted to nutrient-poor Oxisols of Amazonia, ethnobotanical observations show that bitter manioc is also frequently cultivated in the highly fertile soils of the floodplains and Amazonian dark earths (ADE) along the middle Madeira River. Because different sets of varieties are grown in each soil type, and there are agronomic similarities between ADE and floodplain varieties, it was hypothesized that varieties grown in ADE and floodplain were more closely related to each other than either is to varieties grown in Oxisols. We tested this hypothesis evaluating the intra-varietal genetic diversity and the genetic relationships among manioc varieties commonly cultivated in Oxisols, ADE and floodplain soils. Genetic results did not agree with ethnobotanical expectation, since the relationships between varieties were variable and most individuals of varieties with the same vernacular name, but grown in ADE and floodplain, were distinct. Although the same vernacular name could not always be associated with genetic similarities, there is still a great amount of variation among the varieties. Many ecological and genetic processes may explain the high genetic diversity and differentiation found for bitter manioc varieties, but all contribute to the maintenance and amplification of genetic diversity within the manioc in Central Amazonia.

A cloud-point extraction (CPE) method using the surfactant (30)p-tert-octylphenol polyoxyethylene (OPEO30) was proposed as the preceding step for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Given the need for surfactant derivatization before the chromatographic analysis, the reaction conditions of coacervate derivatization were studied. The extraction process was also optimized, where surfactant concentration, temperature and time were analyzed as variables. The limits of detection obtained were between 0.02 and 0.05 µg L-1, and the recoveries of analytes were between 70 and 98%, with coefficient of variation better than 10.3%. The analytical method developed provides an efficient, precise and accurate method for the determination of the 16 priority PAHs, generating results in accordance with the USEPA 3510C method. The method was applied to the analysis of groundwater samples collected from artesian wells located at retail fuel stations.

This study aimed to present information about the sarsaparilla sold in establishments in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, assess the genetic diversity of Smilax brasiliensis Spreng., Smilacaceae, and examine the growing conditions and productivity of five species of Smilax. The amount of sarsaparilla sold per month at most pharmacies was 0.4 kg on average. Herbal stores and markets sold averages of 9 kg and 8 kg per month, respectively. The weight of the underground biomass of S. fluminensis (188.3 g) is significantly higher than those of other species (28.3-79.6 g). The study demonstrated that high genetic diversity among the Smilax brasiliensis plants belonging to the CPQBA germplasm bank, which was confirmed by the results of the genotyping study that used a SSR marker on S. brasiliensis. The high consumption of sarsaparilla and the low yield of young plants cultivated from seeds with high genetic variability reinforce the need for further studies on the production of Smilax species.

Podridão de carvão, causada por Macrophomina phaseolina é uma das mais importantes doenças da soja. Variabilidade genética tem sido observada entre isolados. Entretanto, o efeito de especialização deste fungo, de acordo com a planta hospedeira, não foi ainda relatado. Isolados de soja, milho e girassol foram avaliados, em inoculações cruzadas, quanto à capacidade de formação de microesclerócios em raiz. A maior e menor produção significativa de microesclerócios (P<0.005) foram observadas em raízes de soja (863 microesclerócios/g de raiz) e girassol (578 microesclerócios/g de raiz), respectivamente, independente da origem do isolado. Além disso, estudou-se a variabilidade de isolados do fungo, obtidos de sistemas de rotação de culturas estabelecido há 20 anos utilizando-se RAPD. Oitenta e nove isolados, oriundos de cinco populações foram coletados em amostras de solo de quatro sistemas de rotação e uma amostra de solo virgem. Sete agrupamentos foram observados com 85% de similaridade. As análises indicaram que M. phaseolina é uma espécie com alta variabilidade genética com forte efeito do sistema de rotação. AMOVA foi realizada com os dados de RAPD. Da variabilidade genética total, 21% (P<0.0001) foi explicada pelas diferenças entre populações e, 79% foi explicada por diferenças dentro das populações ( Φst = 0.2110; P<0.0001). A média do coeficiente de diferenciação gênica (G ST) estimada entre as cinco populações foi de 27%, similar aos resultados da AMOVA ( Φst= 0.2110). A diversidade genética total mostrou que as cinco populações têm alto grau de variabilidade (H T =0.3484). Os resultados sugerem que a diferenciação genética de M. phaseolina pode ser alterada pela rotação de culturas.

Charcoal rot, caused by Macrophomina phaseolina, is one of the most important diseases of soybean. Genetic variability among soybean isolates has been observed but the effect of host specialization on genetic variability has not been reported. In this work, isolates from soybean, corn and sunflower were evaluated based on cross inoculations and number of microsclerotia/g of roots. The highest and lowest significant (P<0.005) production of microsclerotia was obtained in soybean (863 microsclerotia/g of roots) and sunflower (578 microsclerotia/g of roots), respectively, regardless of the origin of the isolate. Additionally, the effect of a 20-year crop rotation on genetic variability based on RAPD was studied. Eighty-nine isolates from five populations were obtained from soil samples under four crop rotation systems and an uncropped soil. Seven clusters were obtained considering a similarity level of 85%. Analysis indicated that M. phaseolina is a highly diverse species and also revealed a strong effect of the rotation system on genetic diversity. AMOVA was conducted for the RAPD data. From the total genetic variability, 21% (P<0.0001) could be explained by the differences between populations while 79% could be explained by differences within populations ( Φst = 0.2110; P<0.0001). The mean coefficient of gene differentiation (G ST) estimated among the five populations indicated 27% of differentiation between populations similar to the AMOVA results where Φst= 0.2110. Total gene diversity estimated indicated high levels of variability (H T =0.3484). Results suggest that genetic differentiation of M. phaseolina can be altered by crop rotation.