Abstract
Wild species related to cultivated tomato are essential genetic resources in breeding programs focused on food security to face future challenges. The ecogeographic analysis allows identifying the species adaptive ranges and most relevant environmental variables explaining their patterns of actual distribution. The objective of this research was to identify the diversity, ecological descriptors, and statistical relationship of 35 edaphoclimatic variables (20 climatic, 1 geographic and 14 edaphic variables) from 4,649 accessions of 12 wild tomato species and 4 closely related species classified in Solanum sect. Lycopersicon and clustered into four phylogenetic groups, namely “Lycopersicon group” (S. pimpinellifolium, S. cheesmaniae, and S. galapagense), “Arcanum group” (S. arcanum, S. chmielewskii, and S. neorickii), “Eriopersicon group” (S. habrochaites, S. huaylasense, S. corneliomulleri, S. peruvianum, and S. chilense), “Neolycopersicon group” (S. pennellii); and two phylogenetically related groups in Solanum sect. Juglandifolia (S. juglandifolium and S. ochranthum), and section Lycopersicoides (S. lycopersicoides and S. sitiens). The relationship between the climate and edaphic variables were determined by the canonical correlation analysis, reaching 89.2% of variation with the first three canonical correlations. The most significant climatic variables were related to humidity (annual evapotranspiration, annual precipitation, and precipitation of driest month) and physicochemical soil characteristics (bulk density, pH, and base saturation percentage). In all groups, ecological descriptors and diversity patterns were consistent with previous reports. Regarding edaphoclimatic diversity, 12 climate types and 17 soil units were identified among all species. This approach has promissory applications for biodiversity conservation and uses valuable genetic resources related to a leading crop.
Highlights
Latin America and the Caribbean are regions rich in biodiversity, hosting nearly 60% of the world’s biological diversity (UNEPWCMC, 2016)
Regarding the place of origin and diversification of tomato, Peru is considered the center of origin with two transitions that involve tomato diversification process; the first one in South America, from wild species S. pimpinellifolium L. to a partially domesticated species S. lycopersicum L. var. cerasiforme (SLC); the second transition occurred in Mesoamerica from SLC to the completely domesticated species S. lycopersicum L. var. lycopersicum
The variables selected for subsequent statistical analyses and ecological descriptors were annual evapotranspiration, altitude, precipitation of dries month, annual precipitation, temperature annual range, isothermality, mean diurnal range, annual mean temperature, percentage of sand, silt and clay, bulk density (BD), pH, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity (CEC), base saturation (BS), calcium carbonate CaCO3), sodicity, and salinity
Summary
Latin America and the Caribbean are regions rich in biodiversity, hosting nearly 60% of the world’s biological diversity (UNEPWCMC, 2016). Within this region, Mesoamerica is recognized as one of the main centers of origin, diversification, domestication, and biological plant diversity of various species of agricultural interest and animal consumption (Fortuny-Fernández et al, 2017). The complex evolutionary history, phylogenetics, geology, biogeography, and climatic variability are some factors that enhance the diversity in this area (UNEP-WCMC, 2016) This condition is essential to ensure food, socioeconomic, and cultural sovereignty for sustainable development and offers a large number of ecosystem services (FAO et al, 2019). New findings indicate that the origin of SLC may be prior to its domestication since many typical characteristics of tomatoes grown in South America come from this species; SLC is subsequently considered to have been lost or declined once the partially domesticated forms extended to the north (Razifard et al, 2020)
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