Guaraná (Paullinia cupana H.B.K., Sapindaceae) is a rainforest vine that was domesticated in the Amazon for its caffeine-rich fruits. Guaraná has long been used as a tonic and to treat various disorders in Brazil and abroad and became a national soda in Brazil about a century ago. In the last two decades or so, guaraná has emerged as a key ingredient in various ‘sports’ and energy drinks as well as concoctions that allegedly boost one's libido. For some time, guaraná's high caffeine content was thought to be a detriment because of health concerns about excessive intake of caffeine-rich drinks. But it is precisely this quality, and the fact that it has a mysterious name and comes from an exotic land, that has propelled guaraná into a global beverage.

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Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) is a plant native to the central Amazon basin. Roasted seed extracts have been used as medicinal beverages since pre-Colombian times, due to their reputation as stimulants, aphrodisiacs, tonics, as well as protectors of the gastrointestinal tract. Guarana plants are commercially cultivated exclusively in Brazil to supply the national carbonated soft-drink industry and natural product stores around the world. In this report, we describe and discuss the annotation of 15,387 ESTs from guarana seeded-fruits, highlighting sequences from the flavonoid and purine alkaloid pathways, and those related to biotic stress avoidance. This is the largest set of sequences registered for the Sapindaceae family.

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RESUMO -Este trabalho teve como objetivo quantificar o progresso genético do arroz de várzea úmida no Estado do Amapá, no período de 1991 a 1996. A eficiência do programa de avaliação e seleção de linhagens de arroz foi estudada, utilizando-se os dados das produtividades de grãos obtidos nos Ensaios Comparativos Avançados, da rede de ensaios coordenada pela Embrapa-Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Arroz e Feijão. Para estimativa do ganho genético foram utilizadas as metodologias de Vencovsky et al. (1986) e de Fernandes (1988. O ganho genético foi de 78,9 kg ha -1 (2,45%) ao ano, sendo 63,21% dos progressos brutos devidos ao melhoramento genético, pelo primeiro método. No segundo método, o ganho genético foi de 96,93 kg ha -1 (3,02%) ao ano, sendo 67,85% dos progressos brutos devidos ao melhoramento genético. Os ganhos genéticos obtidos com ambas metodologias evidenciam que os esforços empreendidos na busca de cultivares adaptadas e produtivas têm produzido resultados expressivos.Termos para indexação: Oryza sativa, ganho genético, avaliação de linhagem. GENETIC PROGRESS IN LOWLAND RICE IN THE STATE OF AMAPÁ, BRAZILABSTRACT -This paper had the objective of quantifying the genetic progress of lowland rice in the state of Amapá, Brazil, in the 1991-1996 period. The efficiency of the rice lineages evaluation and selection program was studied, using grain yield data, obtained in the Advanced Yield Trials, of the Embrapa-Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Arroz e Feijão network. To estimate the genetic gain the methodologies of Vencovsky et al. (1986) and Fernandes (1988) were used. The genetic gain obtained was of 2.45%/ year (78.9 kg ha -1 ), being 63.21% of the whole progresses due to the genetic breeding, for the first method. In the second method, the genetic gain was of 3.02%/year (96.93 kg ha -1 ), being 67.85% of the whole progresses due to the genetic breeding. The genetic gains obtained in both methodologies evidence that the efforts undertaken in the search of adapted and productive cultivars have been producing expressive results.

Under natural conditions the germination of oil palm seeds may take years, and it is usually uneven and has a very low rate. To increase the germination rate it is necessary to break the dormancy, through heat-treatment (HT). In the germination of oil palm seeds produced by Embrapa Western Amazon the HT used is at 40 °C during 80 days. The objective of this study was to evaluate the periods of 40, 50, 60 and 80 days of HT at 40 °C on seeds germination of six oil palm cultivars BRS C2001, BRS C2328, BRS C2501, BRS C2528, BRS C3701 and BRS C7201. The statistical design was randomized block, 6 x 4 factorial, with four replications of 500 seeds each. The minimum HT period for maximum germination ranged from 45 days for BRS C2328 (70%) to 80 days for BRS C2528 (84%). For BRS C7201 was not observed significant effect of the HT period for seed germination, estimated as 82%. The maximum germination of oil palm seeds varies with the duration of heat treatment. With the exception of cultivar BRS C2528, heat treatment may be less than 80 days.

-The objective of this work was to evaluate corn cultivars grown in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, which simultaneously show high grain yield, adaptability, and stability. The trials were carried out in seven environments in the state of Amazonas, in a randomized complete block design, with two replicates. The grain yield of 30 corn cultivars was evaluated in four growing seasons, from 2011/2012 to 2014/2015. The genetic parameters were estimated by the REML/Blup methodology. The selection for adaptability and stability was based on the predicted genetic value and on the harmonic mean of the relative performance of the genetic values. Despite the existence of genotype x environment interaction, cultivars with high adaptability and stability were identified. Iranduba -lowland, in

Resumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a repetibilidade da produção de sementes de 27 clones de guaraná (Paullinia cupana). Os clones foram avaliados em dez ensaios instalados em blocos ao acaso com duas repetições e três plantas por parcela, com espaçamento de 5x5 m. A produção de sementes foi avaliada por quatro anos (1998, 1999, 2000 e 2001) a partir do início da fase produtiva, após dois anos do plantio. O coefi ciente de repetibilidade foi estimado pelos métodos: análise de variância (ANOVA), componentes principais com base em matriz de correlações (CPCOR), componentes principais com base em matriz de variâncias e covariâncias fenotípicas (CPCOV) e análise estrutural com base na matriz de correlações (AECOR). Foram estimados também o número mínimo de observações e o coefi ciente de determinação. As estimativas dos coefi cientes de repetibilidade com base nos quatro anos, nos dez ambientes, foram relativamente baixas -0,2618 (AECOR), 0,3064 (CPCOR), 0,3183 (ANOVA) e 0,5308 (CPCOV) -e variaram de acordo com o método e o ambiente. São necessários, no mínimo, quatro anos de avaliação para a obtenção de valores genotípicos dos clones com coefi ciente de determinação de 80%.Termos para indexação: Paullinia cupana, análise de variância, análise estrutural, componente principal, seleção clonal. Seed yield repeatability of guarana clonesAbstract -The aim of this work was to evaluate the seed yield repeatability of 27 guarana clones. Ten assays were carried out for clone evaluation using a completely randomized block design, with two replicates and three plants per plot with a 5x5 m spacing. The seed yield was measured during four years (1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001) after the beginning of the production phase, two years after planting. Four methods were used for repeatability coeffi cient estimation: analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal components analysis based on correlation matrix (CPCOR), principal components analysis based on phenotypical variance and covariance matrix (CPCOV), and structural analysis based on correlation matrix (AECOR). Minimum observations number and determination coeffi cient were also evaluated. The repeatability coeffi cient estimates based on these four years, in all ten environments, were relatively low -0.2618 (AECOR), 0.3064 (CPCOR), 0.3183 (ANOVA) and 0.5308 (CPCOV) -and varied according to method and environment. At least four years of evaluation are necessary for obtaining the real genotypical value of the clones for an 80% determination coeffi cient.