Genetic and chemical diversity in seeds of cactus mandacaru (Cereus sp.) from two edaphoclimatic regions contrasting

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the chemical, physiological and genetic differences in seeds of cactus of the Cereus genus (mandacaru) cultivated in the Northeast (Picos, State of Piauí) and Southern (Maringá, State of Paraná) regions of Brazil. Over a period of eight days, temperatures of 25°C and 30°C were equally efficient for the germination of all the seeds. Oleic acid (C18:1) was the most common fatty acid found in the seeds collected in the Southern (41%) and Northeast (45.5%) regions. The analysis of lipases indicated that seeds from Maringá have high mean observed and expected heterozygosities and that seeds from Picos have a higher number of alleles per loci. Therefore, the seeds of mandacaru from the semiarid region of Northeast as well as the seeds from the South (the two contrasting regions of Brazil) are promising with regards to the preservation of the biodiversity in the genome of mandacaru. The low genetic identity between mandacaru seeds from Maringá and Picos at Lipase-5 locus analysis (I = 0.77) suggests that the mandacaru plants from Maringá and Picos may correspond to two species: C. peruvianus and C. jamacaru, respectively.

Characteristics of fruits and seeds of cereus plants (cactaceae) grown in South and Northeastern Brazil

“…Although there is evidence in another species of cactus (Gymnocalycium monvillei) that the characteristics of the germination differ according to the distribution of the plants at different altitudes, 27 differences in the germination rates of the seeds of Cereus plants Maringá and Picos were not detected in current study nor were they observed in a study by Bevilaqua et al 18 No significant differences were observed, at 25°C and 30°C, in the germination rate of the seeds of the two regions. Over a period of four days, the germination rate of seeds maintained at 30°C was greater than the germination rate of seeds maintained at 25°C.…”

“…Seed germination was done following Bevilaqua et al 18 Seeds were first soaked in sterilized water for 24 h according to recommendations by Carvalho et al 21 distributed on two sheets of Germitest® type paper moistened with distilled water and packed in plastic Petri dishes. 18 Twenty seeds per plastic Petri dish were used in replicates, with five replicates of seeds obtained from fruits of Maringá and from fruits of Picos, totaling 100 seeds from each region. The experiment was carried out in a germination chamber at 30°C, using a 16h-photoperiod.…”

“…14 The economic importance of C. jamacaru plants in Brazil´s northeastern region has stimulated studies to assess the viability, chemical composition and potential for seed germination of the species. [15][16][17][18][19][20] However, there are no reports of studies with fruits and seeds of the C. peruvianus species cultivated in south Brazil; only the effect of different temperatures on seeds germination was reported by Bevilaqua et al 18 The objective of the current study was to verify if fruits and seeds of Cereus from a location in the northeast and a location in the south regions of Brazil present promising characteristics for programs of breeding.…”

Differences in the Structural Chemical Composition of the Primary Xylem of Cactaceae: A Topochemical Perspective

“…The fruits were dissected to obtain seeds. Echinocactus platyacanthus , Ferocactus pilosus , Leuenbergeria lychnidiflora , Lophocereus marginatus , Mammillaria carnea , and Myrtillocactus geometrizans seeds were disinfected by immersion in 10% sodium hypochlorite for 5 min, placed on filter paper saturated with distilled water in sterile Petri dishes (Loza-Cornejo et al, 2008; Guillén et al, 2011), and kept at 25°C under a light/darkness photoperiod of 12 h in a germination chamber (Rojas-Aréchiga and Mandujano, 2013; Salas-Cruz et al, 2014; Bevilaqua et al, 2015). Cylindropuntia imbricata and Opuntia streptacantha seeds were scarified with 98% sulfuric acid for 90 min, washed five times with distilled water, disinfected by immersion in 10% sodium hypochlorite for 5 min, and placed on filter paper saturated with distilled water in sterile Petri dishes (Sánchez-Soto et al, 2010; Monroy et al, 2017).…”

Soluble amino acid profile, mineral nutrient and carbohydrate content of maize kernels harvested from plants submitted to ascorbic acid seed priming

“…The importance of seed plants to humans is unquestionable and they have been studied for a wide range of aspects (Azevedo et al 1997, Carvalho et al 2011, Bevilaqua et al 2015, Dresch et al 2015, Sneideris et al 2015, Soares et al 2015, but in particular to their nutritional quality due to their consumption by animals and humans (Azevedo et al 1997). Cereals and legume seeds are significant plant protein sources in the human diet (Azevedo et al 1990).…”