Species of Zingiberaceae display a diversity in habitat, ethnobotanical use and morphology. However, little is known about the genetic relationships among taxa and genetic diversity, primarily due to the lack of suitable molecular markers. We tested the cross-amplification potential of microsatellite markers among taxa to identify a larger number of genetic markers. To assess the applicability of rice microsatellite markers to the Zingiberaceae, we tested 12 microsatellite markers for 14 genotypes from three genera of this family: Zingiber, Alpinia and Curcuma. The origin of the genotypes was diverse, covering eight Asian countries. Four microsatellite primer sets failed to amplify fragments in all genotypes studied, whereas the other primer sets amplified all the genotypes. Among the 141 bands, that could be scored, 140 (99.5%) were polymorphic. On the average, each microsatellite primer set amplified 17.6 DNA fragments. In general, amplified fragments were larger than the original rice fragments including the microsatellite region, although in some cases, the amplified bands were similar in size. Though sequence analysis of these bands confirmed the absence of target repeat motif, amplification of a large number of polymorphic bands provided the basis to perform an analysis of genetic diversity. Primers could generate enough polymorphism for possible use in diversity studies, based on provisional multivariate analyses such as cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). The whole set of genotypes based on molecular data was classified into four clusters after cluster analysis. Genotypes from the Curcuma and Alpinia genera were grouped into clusters I and II, respectively. Clusters III and IV comprised genotypes from the genus Zingiber. PCA led to a similar classification. The high polymorphism documented in the present study indicated that the rice microsatellite primers were useful for genetic diversity studies among genera in the family Zingiberaceae.
Curcuma amada Roxb. is an important species known as mango ginger due to its characteristic raw-mango aroma. It has a long history of traditional uses ranging from folk medicine to several culinary preparations. The phytochemical, pharmacological and ethnobotanical studies of C. amada are reviewed. The rhizome is rich in essential oils, and more than 130 chemical constituents with biomedical significance have been isolated from it. Its antibacterial, insecticidal, antifungal and antioxidant properties have been investigated. The conservation of indigenous knowledge by proper documentation is suggested. The chemotaxonomy, allelopathy and genetic diversity of C. amada have not yet been explored, and many such studies are possible. This review was compiled to provide consolidated information covering different aspects of the plant, to provide a basis on which to plan future studies and to promote sustainable use of C. amada.
The Zingiber species comprises rhizomatous plants with special significance due to their multiple uses. Previously, we reported the additional use and suitability of primer pairs of rice microsatellite markers as RAPDs for diversity assessment in representative accessions of diverse taxa in the family Zingiberaceae. The current study aimed to investigate the genetic structure of Z. officinale at a genebank, small-scale subsistent farms and commercial markets, and the genetic relationships of three Zingiber species. A difference among accessions at the inter-specific level was observed and amplification of species-specific bands led to high polymorphism. Genetic variability in Z. officinale was exhibited by the three collection sources; however, some of the accessions from each source tended to cluster. AMOVA also displayed significant divergence among the three collection sources and explained most of the variance (87%) within the collection sources. In general, small-scale local farms displayed higher genetic variability in Z. officinale compared to those from the genebank and markets. Comparative assessment displayed high allelic diversity in ginger from Myanmar as compared to other Asian countries. Genetic resources of Zingiber species, particularly available on farms, can be a useful source to capture and utilize diversity for conservation as well as further improvement in gingers.
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