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Total phenolic content, RAPDs, AFLPs and morphological traits for the analysis of variability in Smallanthus sonchifolius

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Abstract

Smallanthus sonchifolius is a periennal herb originally cultivated in South America and now grown in several other countries. Recently, greater attention has been focused on this plant due to its agronomical, nutritional and pharmacological characteristics. In this paper the application of RAPDs and AFLPs for the analysis of genetic diversity in a group of 5 Smallanthus sonchifolius landraces is presented. Both methods proceed through the direct analysis of DNA, and their results were compared with the total phenolic content of each landrace and its morphological traits. Using 61 RAPD primers, 85 informative bands were identified, corresponding to 28.7% of polymorphism. In comparison, only six selected AFLP primer pairs produced 84 informative bands, with a similar percentage of polymorphism (23.4%). RAPD and AFLP markers were analyzed separately. Total phenolic content varied twofold among the five landraces analysed, ranging from 3,494 to 6,849 mg/g. Each type of molecular marker resolved two main groups that included the same genotypes, but with different within-group relationships among genotypes. The two groups are consistent with some phenotypic characters but they do not reflect faithfully their geographical origin. Most notably, the two groups comprise landraces with higher and lower total phenolic content, respectively. Dendrograms based on the two molecular data sets graphically depicted the ability of both methods to differentiate all the cultivars studied. Data obtained suggest that the two molecular markers applied are useful to investigate intra-specific genetic variability in Smallanthus sonchifolius, and predict well the total phenolic content of each landrace.

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Acknowledgments

I would to thank Prof. Pasquale Piazolla that gave me the opportunity to work in this laboratories abroad.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Basilicata, v.le dell’ateneo Lucano, 85100, Potenza, Italy

    L. Milella, G. Martelli & I. Greco

  2. Division of Plant Health, Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czech Republic

    J. Salava & J. Ovesná

  3. Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture, Czech University of Agriculture, Prague, Czech Republic

    E. Fernandez

Authors
  1. L. Milella
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  2. G. Martelli
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  3. J. Salava
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  4. E. Fernandez
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  5. J. Ovesná
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  6. I. Greco
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. Milella.

Additional information

This work represents the first report of the contemporary use of RAPD and AFLP markers on a yacon genome, and the first to correlate genetic differences with landrace total phenolic content.

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Milella, L., Martelli, G., Salava, J. et al. Total phenolic content, RAPDs, AFLPs and morphological traits for the analysis of variability in Smallanthus sonchifolius . Genet Resour Crop Evol 58, 545–551 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-010-9597-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-010-9597-x

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