Edaphic Factors as Agents of Genetic Diversity and Adaptation of Native Plant Species of Harsh Environments in the Brazilian Savanna

Abstract

Purposes To analyze the main edaphic factors that differentiate ultramafic from typical Cerrado environments and act as agents of the development of biochemical and morphological mechanisms of species adaptation to these harsh environments; and to determine the genetic diversity of three Cerrado’s shrubland native species (Justicia lanstyakii, Euploca salicoides, and Oxalis hirsutissima). Methods We conducted chemical analysis of metal contents in soils, as well as on elemental composition, and analysis of DNA extracted from leaf tissues of the three species found in both environments. In leaves of E. salicoides grown in both environments we evaluated the changes in the levels of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), and total proteins. Results The accessions obtained in ultramafic soils were closer with each other, indicating genetic similarity and major differences in relation to the accessions collected in the Cerrado area. These differentiations probably are related with higher adaptation to soils rich in metals, mainly Ni in ultramafic, and Al in the Cerrado environments. The highest levels of NSC were observed in plants grown in ultramafic soils, including raffinose, which is related to responses to metal detoxification and drought. The allocation of Ni in the trichomes, which does not affect important processes of plant metabolism, is another mechanism developed by E. salicoides to overcome the hyperaccumulation of Ni in their tissues. Conclusions These findings can help select seed collection sites representative of the genetic diversity of native plant species for restoring degraded areas or for phytoremediation of metals.

The discovery and global distribution of hyperaccumulator plants: A personal account

“…Further extensive work from the Barro Alto area of Goi as State, recently reported by Andrade et al (2023), records the results of analyses on more than 1000 samples of 280 species collected from an area of 10 ha. The presence there of 46 Ni hyperaccumulator species from 21 families suggests that there are many more to be discovered, both in Goi as and elsewhere in Brazil.…”