Distinguishing three Dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) species grown in Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India using morphological, biochemical and molecular traits

Abstract

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.), an important tropical fruit belonging to the family Cactaceae, is rich in essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, dietary fibres and antioxidants. This study aims to distinguish three dragon fruit species well adapted to Andaman and Nicobar Island through morphological (34 quantitative and 26 qualitative traits), biochemical (5 traits) and molecular (14 ISSR primers) characterization. Morphological characterization revealed that presence of considerable amount of genetic variations among them especially for fruit characters viz., colour of peel and pulp. Cladode characters such as number of spines (3–5), length of areoles (mm) as 1–4, margin ribs of cladode (convex or concave) and its waxiness (weak or strong white waxy or light waxy) could be used for identification of three Hylocereus spp. under present study. Highest co-efficient of variation (%) obtained for pulp weight (88.7), whereas, lowest in distance of anthers belowstigma (3.3). Fruit and pulp weight (g) ranged from 26.5–419.3 and 10.3–258.8 with mean value of 204.8 and 125.3, respectively. Comparatively, high phenol (71.3–161.3) and flavonoid (26.6–508.2) content observed in peels than pulp (32.5–130.0 and 45.0–258.2) of fruit indicating higher antioxidant potential. Highest total carotenoids (µg 100 g−1), β-carotene (µg 100 g−1) and xanthophyll (µg g−1) content obtained in pulp on DGF3 (33.8), DGF4 (55.9) and DGF3 (32.7), whereas, in peel on DGF2 (24.3), DGF4 (18.5) and DGF2 (24.1), respectively. DPPH-based scavenging activity (%) revealed higher scavenging activity of peels (55.6–81.2) than pulp (36.0–75.3) extracts. Comparatively, ABTS-based scavenging activity (%) was found more than DPPH-based one. Sixteen ISSR primers screened, 14 were produced 178 reproducible amplified bands. Number of amplified bands varied from 5 in UBC887 to 19 in UBC811 with an average of 12.71 bands per primer. Range of polymorphic bands and % polymorphism observed were 1–13 and 20.0–92.8, respectively. The polymorphic information content value of ISSR marker ranged from 0.42 (UBC895) to 0.91 (UBC 856). Cluster analysis distinguished three different Hylocereus species on the basis of geographic origin and pulp colour by forming separate groups and two genotypes each showed 52% (DGF1 and DGF3) and 76% (DGF2 and DGF4) genetic similarity. Key traits identified for distinguishing three different Hylocereus species were: Pulp/ peel colour of fruits, number of spines and length of areoles in cladode. Genotypes with high carotenoid and xanthophylls content (DGF4 and DGF2) identified under present study may be of industrial importance for development of nutraceutical products to meet out the vitamin-A deficiency among humans in tropical regions needed future focus.

Phenotypic Diversity of Morphological Characteristics of Pitahaya (Selenicereus Megalanthus Haw.) Germplasm in Colombia

“…and Megalanthus spp. [8,17]. In this study, the genotypes showed the shape of margin between areolas between concave and right, contrary to that reported in other studies on different species of Hylocereus, where the predominant forms were convex, with the presence of wax [8].…”

“…None of the genotypes had wax but there was variation for each of the categories of the morphological descriptors evaluated. It was stated by [8] that cladode, floral and fruit characteristics of H. megalanthus, such as margin ribs of cladode, waxiness, sepal color, color of ring at base of reproductive organs in flower, fruit shape, position towards peel, pulp color, peel color and seed size are visible taxonomic traits to distinguish this species from two Hylocereus spp. : H.undatus and H. costariscensis.…”

“…Nowadays, it is very difficult to separate species and varieties of the dragon fruit because of high intra and interspecific hybridization that has created some taxonomical confusion worldwide [7]. Morphological and genetic heterogeneity in many fruit characteristics, such as sweetness, size, shape, color, and bracts number, resulting from intra and inter-specific hybridization that makes it difficult to increase quality standards for the exportation market, posing serious problems when determining performance in handling and shelf-life [8].…”

“…Studies on morphological characterization of germplasm worldwide have shown great variation in the evaluated accessions that can be conserved and used in the genetic improvement of the species; for example, a study evaluated morphological, biochemical and molecular characterizations of four dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) genotypes grown in Andaman and on Nicobar Island and revealed the presence of a considerable amount of genetic variations that could be used as key traits for distinguishing three different species [8]. Four dragon fruit genotypes: H. polyrhizus, H. megalanthus and two H. hybrids resulted in different plant growth and development.…”

Identification of dragon fruit (Selenicereus) species in Mekong Delta based on DNA barcode sequences

“…In Selenicereus species, some studies focused on the morphology and Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR marker) for genetic diversity and species identification (Tao et al 2014;Abirami et al 2021). However, morphological traits influenced by environmental factors and the band pattern may not be reliable because ISSR is a dominant marker.…”