Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) was domesticated in the Indo-Birmanian region, which is also the primary center of diversity for this crop. From there eggplant spread to other regions, and diversity accumulated in several secondary centers of diversity. We have assessed the diversity and relationships of 52 accessions of eggplant from three geographically distant secondary centers of diversity (China, Spain, and Sri Lanka) using 28 morphological descriptors and 12 highly polymorphic genomic SSRs. A wide variation was found for most morphological traits, and significant differences among the three centers of diversity were detected for 22 of these traits. The PCA analysis showed that eggplants from the three origins were morphologically differentiated, and accessions from each of the three secondary centers of diversity presented a typical combination of morphological characteristics. In this respect, discriminant analysis showed that accessions could be correctly classified to their origin using only six traits. The SSR characterization identified 110 alleles and allowed obtaining a unique genetic fingerprint for each accession. Many alleles were found to be private to each origin, but no universal alleles were found for any of the origins. The PCA analysis showed that the genetic differentiation among origins was less clear than for morphological traits, although the analysis of the population structure shows that accessions mostly group according to the origin, but also provides evidence of migration among the three secondary centers of diversity. The genetic diversity (HT) within each origin was high, ranging between HT = 0.5400 (Sri Lanka) and HT = 0.4943 (China), while the standardized genetic differentiation (G’ST) among origins was moderate (G’ST = 0.2657). The correlation between morphological and SSR distances was non-significant (r = 0.044), indicating that both data are complementary for the conservation of germplasm and breeding of eggplant. These results are relevant for the management of genetic resources, breeding programmes, and evolutionary studies of eggplant.
Solanum insanum L. (Solanaceaeae) is the wild progenitor of common eggplant (S. melongena L.) and is naturally distributed in south and southeast Asia, Madagascar and Mauritius. Despite interest in its potential for eggplant breeding it has not been studied extensively. Solanum insanum has been subjected to various taxonomic treatments, with several discussions and arguments on its delimitation as a species, due to its close similarities with the cultivated S. melongena and the wild species S. incanum L. from the Middle East and northern Africa. Solanum insanum has long been used in a variety of medicinal and culinary preparations across many different Asian ethnolinguistic groups. Limited studies carried out on its chemical composition and pharmacognostical properties coupled with ethnobotanic studies reveal that S. insanum has potential for eggplant improvement with respect to phytochemical properties of interest for human health. Further study of morphological and genetic diversity in S. insanum is essential to promote its utilization in eggplant breeding, in light of its potential to hybridize with cultivated eggplant successfully. Here we compile and review the taxonomy, phytogeography, ecology and habitat characteristics, cytology, ethnobotany, breeding and phytochemical analysis of S. insanum. A comprehensive botanical description and illustrations for S. insanum are provided. A detailed comparison of S. insanum and its closely allied species, S. melongena and S. incanum is also made. The potential of S. insanum for crop improvement and future research priorities are discussed.
Elsevier Ranil, RH.; Niran, HML.; Plazas Ávila, MDLO.; Fonseka, R.; Hemal Fonseka, H.; Vilanova Navarro, S.; Andújar Pérez, I.... (2015). Improving seed germination of the eggplant rootstock Solanum torvum by testing multiple factors using an orthogonal array design. Scientia
Crop wild relatives (CWRs) have barely been used in eggplant (Solanum melongena) breeding. However, introgression breeding may help in coping with the challenges posed by climate change. During the rainy and dry seasons, we evaluated nine accessions of eggplant, nine accessions of seven related species (of which six are CWRs and one is a cultivated relative), and 12 interspecific hybrids. Drought tolerance scores, calculated as ratios of growing rates and ratios of mean values during the rainy and dry seasons, were obtained for vegetative growth and yield‐related traits. Considering the vegetative growth and yield‐related traits evaluated, the F1 hybrid progenies of eggplant with S. insanum MEL1 × INS2 and MEL4 × INS3, S. anguivi MEL6 × ANG1, and S. dasyphyllum MEL6 × DAS1, plus the S. sysimbriifolium accession SIS1, displayed drought tolerance. Small to large gaps were observed between phenotypic and genotypic CVs of drought tolerance scores, reflecting variable influence of environmental factors on drought tolerance of the traits evaluated. In addition, the narrow‐sense heritability was generally moderate, indicating that genes with dominance and/or epistasis effects may be involved in the expression of drought tolerance. High genotypic correlations for drought tolerance scores between pairs of traits such as branching index and leaf length, leaf petiole diameter and plant height, number of stamens per flower, and fruit pedicel length suggest that drought tolerance of these traits is controlled by genes that are in linkage disequilibrium and/or have pleiotropic effects. The results are relevant for the development of drought‐tolerant cultivars of eggplant.
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