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.
Highlights
The cactus species Cereus peruvianus is known in Brazil as “mandacaru”
An ellipsoid or round shape and are approximately 20 cm in length and 12 cm in diameter (Morton 1987, Mizrahi et al 1997). Plants of this species are considered important because, in addition to being ornamental, they possess a series of characteristics that are of economic, commercial, industrial and medicinal interest
They produce amine alkaloids (Vries et al 1971, Oliveira and Machado 2003), wax esters that have a potential application as an impermeable barrier (Rezanka and Dembitsky 1998), and a viscous gum that has several industrial applications (Alvarez et al 1992, 1995, Nozaki et al 1993, Barros and Nozaki 2002)
Summary
The cactus species Cereus peruvianus is known in Brazil as “mandacaru”. It is grown in gardens, has nocturnal flowers and requires crosspollination, which is generally carried out by insects such as moths and bees (Silva and Sazima1995, Ruvolo-Takasusuki et al 2006). The fruits are large and have smooth skin that vary in colour, ranging from yellow to red, and a white pulp that contains numerous small black seeds. They have an ellipsoid or round shape and are approximately 20 cm in length and 12 cm in diameter (Morton 1987, Mizrahi et al 1997). Plants of this species are considered important because, in addition to being ornamental, they possess a series of characteristics that are of economic, commercial, industrial and medicinal interest. In Europe, the fruit of C. peruvianus is widely accepted by the population and is considered an exotic fruit of commercial value
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