Abstract
BackgroundThe macauba has been identified as the most promising native species for the production of vegetable oil and biomass. Several studies confirm its potential for numerous purposes (liquid and solid biofuels, food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals), but this Brazilian biodiversity resource has been little explored, and work aimed at their domestication and genetic improvement are relatively recent. This study consisted of a multivariate approach to levels of trans fatty acids, oil yield and physical characteristics found in fruits of macauba of natural populations. The objective was to quantify the genetic variability among 35 genotypes of natural populations of macauba from 16 locations in different regions of Brazil. Euclidean Distance measurements were estimated and the cluster analysis obtained by the UPGMA method considering separately the fatty acid profile, and traits related to physical part and the fruits oil content.ResultsIt was observed the formation of seven groups for the profile of fatty acids and five groups for physical characteristics and oil yield. Large variations were observed for different types of mesocarp (pulp) fatty acids and kernel. Oleic acid (18: 1) in mesocarp was the largest contribution to the total divergence. The results indicate variations to the physical characteristics and oil yield, especially the oil percentage in mesocarp and weight of the whole fruit which contributed 64.58 % of the divergence between genotypes.ConclusionsThe study identified genotypes potential to generate variability and obtaining selection gains, directing plant breeding programs according with demands of oils market.
Highlights
The macauba has been identified as the most promising native species for the production of vegetable oil and biomass
In Brazil, several studies have assessed the potential of macauba as a renewable biomass resource for generation of liquid and solid biofuels [7], as well as oil for food industry, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals [8]
The dendrogram generated based on Euclidean distances presented the structuring of five groups among the genotypes considering the physical characteristics and oil content (Fig. 1a)
Summary
The macauba has been identified as the most promising native species for the production of vegetable oil and biomass. Several studies confirm its potential for numerous purposes (liquid and solid biofuels, food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals), but this Brazilian biodiversity resource has been little explored, and work aimed at their domes‐ tication and genetic improvement are relatively recent. This study consisted of a multivariate approach to levels of trans fatty acids, oil yield and physical characteristics found in fruits of macauba of natural populations. Euclidean Distance measurements were estimated and the cluster analysis obtained by the UPGMA method considering separately the fatty acid profile, and traits related to physical part and the fruits oil content. In Brazil, several studies have assessed the potential of macauba as a renewable biomass resource for generation of liquid and solid biofuels [7], as well as oil for food industry, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals [8]. Changes in fatty acid composition through conventional breeding are possible and da Conceição et al BMC Res Notes (2015) 8:406 have been successful in obtaining soybean to satisfy the market demand [13]
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