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Exploring the diversity of alfalfa within Brazil for tropical production

Euphytica volume 216, Article number: 72 (2020) Cite this article

Abstract

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a forage legume of great interest because of its role in milk production schemes. Although it has the potential to be cultivated in different edaphoclimatic regions, the fodder production in tropical regions is limited. The objectives of this study were to perform phenotypic and molecular characterization of alfalfa germplasm, to examine the relationship between dissimilarity based on phenotypic and molecular information and to identify the germplasm with potential to generate base populations adapted to tropical conditions. The genetic values of nine traits from seventy-seven alfalfa accessions of a genetic background amenable to a temperate climate were obtained to characterize phenotypic diversity, and microsatellite markers were used to assess molecular diversity. Phenotypic information based on joint deviance analysis revealed the presence of genetic diversity. The correlation between the dissimilarity matrices of genetic values and molecular data was low. Based on phenotypic and molecular data, a great base population would be composed of Pro INTA Patricia, Pro INTA Super Monarca, Mecha, Magna 601, WL 525, ACA 900, Bacana, CUF 101, Crioula, and Ruano. These populations have at least 50 distinct parents, presented high dry matter yield, besides favorable alleles for regrowth ability, biomass yield, and persistence. The genetic variability observed for most traits indicates a high potential for the development of alfalfa base populations adapted to the tropical condition. Once adapted synthetic alfalfa populations are selected, they may be integrated into breeding programs in other tropical regions of the world.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ana Carolina Bueno for lab support, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), and Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste for supporting this work.

Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Iara Gonçalves dos Santos, João Romero do Amaral Santos de Carvalho Rocha & Cosme Damião Cruz

  2. Embrapa Southeast Livestock, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil

    Bianca Baccili Zanoto Vigna, Reinaldo de Paula Ferreira & Renato Maldigamm Scorsolini Marchini

  3. National Institute of Agricultural Technology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Daniel Horacio Basigalup

Authors
  1. Iara Gonçalves dos Santos
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  2. João Romero do Amaral Santos de Carvalho Rocha
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  3. Bianca Baccili Zanoto Vigna
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  4. Cosme Damião Cruz
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  5. Reinaldo de Paula Ferreira
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  6. Daniel Horacio Basigalup
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  7. Renato Maldigamm Scorsolini Marchini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Iara Gonçalves dos Santos.

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dos Santos, I.G., Rocha, J.d., Vigna, B.B. et al. Exploring the diversity of alfalfa within Brazil for tropical production. Euphytica 216, 72 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-020-02606-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-020-02606-w

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