Genetic redundancy in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) presents a challenge to efficient management of genetic resources. This study aimed to identify and define the genetic structure of duplicates in cassava germplasm from various Embrapa research units, using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. We evaluated 2,371 accessions with 20,712 SNPs. The identification of duplicates was performed based on multilocus genotypes (MLG), adopting a maximum genetic distance threshold of 0.05. The population structure was defined based on discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC). A total of 1,757 unique and 614 duplicate accessions were identified. The redundancy of the collections ranged from 17 % (Belém, PA-Brazil) to 39 % (Petrolina, PE-Brazil), with an average of 21 %. This redundancy between different research units is probably due to the historical sharing of accessions, as well as collections carried out in the same region, or even to the intense germplasm exchange between farmers with different genotype names. In terms of genetic structure, the 250 principal components explained 88 % of the genetic variation of the SNP markers and defined the hierarchical structure of the duplicate cassava germplasm in 12 groups. Since heterotic groups have not yet been identified for cassava, crosses between accessions of the 12 DAPC groups may be promising. All MLGs were allocated within the same DAPC group, corroborating duplicate analyses yet still revealing high variability between groups that were quite distinct based on the first two discriminant functions. Our results contribute to optimizing the conservation of genetic resources, together with understanding diversity and its use in crop improvement.

Fonte de financiamento: projeto PROPALMA-Pesquisa, desenvolvimento e inovação em palmáceas para a produção de óleo e aproveitamento econômico de coprodutos e resíduos-Financiado pela FINEP. Conflito de interesse: Os autores declaram não haver conflito de interesse.

Bitter' and 'sweet' cassava are normally distinguished based on the hydrocyanic acid (HCN) content of their roots. Moreover, Brazilian farmers tend to select 'sweet' cassava based on the taste and cooking aspects. The aim of this study was to characterize chemical traits of 'bitter' and 'sweet' cassava roots of the Amazon region and to find genetic relations among accessions based on these traits. Considerable phenotypic variation was detected among the evaluated traits moisture, ashes, total soluble solids, total titratable acidity, pH, total carotenoids, free and total cyanide, crude protein, glucose, fructose, sucrose and starch. Aside from free and total cyanide, the trait means of sugars and moisture differed in 'bitter' and 'sweet' cassava and also differentiated these in different clusters in the dendrogram using the unweighted pair-group method based on arithmetic averages (UPGMA) and in the results of principal component analysis.

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