Genetic structure of natural Eugenia dysenterica DC (Myrtaceae) populations in northeastern Goiás, Brazil, accessed by morphological traits and RAPD markers

Essential oil variability in Eugenia dysenterica fruits

Essential oils (EOs) of Eugenia dysenterica fruits from seven populations were assessed using GC/MS and chemometric analysis. Variations in EOs between populations and three operational chemical units (OCUs), combined with foliar Mn²⁺ as an environmental variable, indicate that 86.8% of variation in oils was explained by these predictors. Variance partitioning shows that the largest pure contribution was attributed to foliar Mn²⁺ (13.1%), followed by OCU (11.4%). Populational origin contributed with lowest variance (6.6%).

EUGENIA DYSENTERICA MART. EX DC. (CAGAITA): PLANTA BRASILEIRA COM POTENCIAL TERAPÊUTICO

O Brasil possui uma das maiores diversidades florísticas do mundo, com vários biomas de características diversas. Esses biomas são uma rica fonte de espécies vegetais utilizadas pelos habitantes locais como alimento e/ou para fins medicinais. Em 2006 foi publicada a Politica Nacional de Plantas Medicinais e Fitoterápicos (PNPMF) que estabeleceu diretrizes de atuação do Governo Federal na área, com o objetivo de fomentar o desenvolvimento industrial e tecnológico e estimular o uso sustentável da biodiversidade nacional. O Programa Nacional de Plantas Medicinais e Fitoterápicos, por sua vez, estabeleceu as ações dos diversos parceiros, para garantir o acesso, o desenvolvimento tecnológio e o uso de plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos de forma segura, eficaz e com qualidade. Eugenia dysenterica Mart ex DC é uma espécie brasileira encontrada no bioma Cerrado e utilizada como alimento e para fins medicinais. Assim, no sentido de contribuir para a PNPMF, foi elaborada uma monografia mostrando os avanços nos estudos sobre essa espécie, potencialmente útil para no desenvolvimento de fitoterápico genuinamente nacional.

Genetic characterization of natural populations of the medicinal plant Palicourea coriacea (Rubiaceae) with molecular markers

Palicourea coriacea (Rubiaceae) is a herbaceous, perennial species typical of the Cerrado; it is popularly known as "douradinha", because of its yellow flowers. It is utilized in popular medicine, mainly for the treatment of renal diseases. We used RAPD markers to evaluate the genetic structure of nine natural populations of P. coriacea, totaling 168 individuals, collected in the States of Goiás and Bahia. This species showed a high level of genetic diversity, with He values varying between 0.259 and 0.338, with an overall mean of 0.296. Analysis by AMOVA revealed that 23% of the total variability was between populations and 77% was within populations. The estimate of apparent gene flow (Nm) was 0.83. Analyses of the fixation index (f ) using a Bayesian approach yielded a mean value of 0.98, suggesting that this is an autogamous species. Analyses of genetic divergence and spatial pattern of the populations utilizing theta(B) and Phi(ST) matrices, pair to pair, revealed no correlation between geographic distance and genetic distance; the nine populations grouped randomly, without relation to their geographic origin. The hypothesis that geographically close populations should be genetically close was discarded based on the Mantel test; the correlation was 0.155 (P = 0.23). The degree of interpopulational differentiation was relatively high, which allows us to recommend a strategy of sampling for the ex situ conservation of genetic variability, utilizing a larger number of populations. For in situ conservation, we suggest preservation of a larger number of areas in the Cerrado, where this species naturally occurs.

Landscape conservation genetics of Dipteryx alata (“baru” tree: Fabaceae) from Cerrado region of central Brazil

In this paper random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to evaluate the degree of among-population differentiation and associated spatial patterns of genetic divergence for Dipteryx alata Vogel populations from Cerrado region of central Brazil, furnishing support for future programs of conservation of this species. We analyzed patterns of genetic and spatial population structure using 45 RAPD loci scored for 309 trees, sampled from five different regions with two populations each. Genetic structure analysis suggested that panmixia null hypothesis can be rejected, with significant among-population components of 15%. Hierarchical partition by Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) shows that 5% of genetic variation is within regions, whereas 10% of variation is among regions, and these results were confirmed by a Bayesian analyses on HICKORY. The Mantel correlogram revealed that this divergence is spatially structured, so that local populations situated at short geographic distances could not be considered independent units for conservation and management. However, genetic discontinuities among populations were found in the northwest and southeast parts of the study area, corresponding to regions of recent socio-economic expansion and high population density, respectively. Taking both geographic distances and genetic discontinuities into account it is possible to establish a group of population to be conserved, covering most of D. alata geographic distribution and congruent with previously established priority areas for conservation in the Cerrado region.