Crop landraces are found in many inhabited islands of Greece. Due to the particularity of environment and isolation from the mainland, Greek islands represent a natural laboratory for comparing the diversity of landraces from the islands with those of the Greek mainland. A collection of 36 Greek eggplant landraces and traditional cultivars from the mainland and the islands has been phenotypically and genetically characterized using 22 morphological descriptors and 5 SSR markers. The mineral composition (K, Mg, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) of fruits was also determined. The objectives of this study include the multi-level characterization of eggplant local landraces and the comparison of diversity among accessions from the Greek mainland and the islands. Characterization of eggplant landraces will contribute to the enhancement and prevention of genetic erosion in this local group and will provide a resource for future investigation and breeding. PCA analysis of morphological traits explained 45.4% of the total variance revealing the formation of two clusters, one with most of the island accessions, and another with most of the mainland ones. The SSR markers used exhibited high average values for the number of alleles/locus (4.6), expected heterozygosity (0.60) and PIC (0.55), while the observed heterozygosity was low (0.13). Both STRUCTURE and PCoA analyses based on SSR data revealed two genetic clusters, one made up mainly by the mainland accessions, while the other one was mainly made up by the island accessions. Although there was considerable variation among the landraces for the concentration of minerals studied, only average Mg concentration was significantly different between mainland and island accessions. Based on our data, the Greek eggplant landraces present considerable morphological and genetic diversity with some differentiation signatures between the island and the mainland accessions. Our results have
Eggplant is a widely consumed vegetable, with significant nutritional value and high antioxidant content, mainly due to its phenolic constituents. Our goal was to determine the levels of carbohydrates, proteins, total phenolics, anthocyanins, flavonoids, chlorogenic acid, and the antioxidant capacity in thirteen eggplant cultivars cultivated in Greece and to identify sequence polymorphisms in key regulating genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway (C4H, HCT, HQT, C3H, F3H, ANS, MYB1), which might relate to the phytochemical content of those cultivars. The carbohydrates’ content differs among and within cultivars, while the rest of the phytochemicals differ only among cultivars. The cultivars ‘EMI’ and ’Lagkada’ scored higher than the rest in phenolics, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, caffeoylquinic acid, and antioxidant capacity. Moreover, significant correlations were observed between various ingredients and the antioxidant capacity (FRAP and DPPH). Sequence analysis revealed several SNPs in C4H, HQT, F3H, ANS, and MYB1 among the cultivars studied. According to chi-square and logistic regression analyses, the missense mutation C4H4-108 correlates significantly with flavonoids, anthocyanins, and proteins; the synonymous mutation HQT-105 correlates with anthocyanins and ascorbic acid; the missense mutation HQT-438 correlates with flavonoids and chlorogenic acid, while the missense mutation ANS1-65 correlates with anthocyanins and sugars. These polymorphisms can be potentially utilized as molecular markers in eggplant breeding, while our data also contribute to the study of eggplant’s secondary metabolism and antioxidant properties.
Plant catalases exhibit spatial and temporal distribution of their activity. Moreover, except from the typical monofunctional catalase, a bifunctional catalase-peroxidase has been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the leaf and root catalases from six different plant species (Lactuca sativa, Cichorium endivia, Apium graveolens, Petroselinum crispum, Lycopersicon esculentum, and Solanum melongena) correspond to the monofunctional or the bifunctional type based on their sensitivity to the inhibitor 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (3-AT). The leaf catalases from all species seem to be monofunctional since they are very sensitive to 3-AT. On the other hand, the root enzymes from Lactuca sativa, Cichorium endivia, Lycopersicon esculentum, and Solanum melongena seem to be bifunctional catalase-peroxidases, considering that they are relatively insensitive to 3-AT, whereas the catalases from Apium graveolens and Petroselinum crispum display the same monofunctional characteristics as the leaves’ enzymes. The leaf catalase activity is usually higher (Lactuca sativa, Petroselinum crispum, and Solanum melongena) or similar (Cichorium endivia and Apium graveolens) to the root one, except for the enzyme from Lycopersicon esculentum, while in all plant species the leaf protein concentration is significantly higher than the root protein concentration. These results suggest that there are differences between leaf and root catalases—differences that may correspond to their physiological role.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.