Abstract
Avati Morotî is a race of floury maize widely used by the Guarani people in South America, whose variability and potential value for breeding has been neglected so far. The objective of this research was to explore the genetic variability within the main Paraguayan race Avati Morotî. We studied the genetic variability available in the 20 accessions of Paraguayan Avati Morotî included in the South American core collection made by CIMMYT. Thirty individuals per accession were genotyped with 30 SSR (simple sequence repeat); we determined genetic diversity and made a cluster analysis in order to define genetic relationships among accessions. Mean of polymorphic loci (0.96), alleles per locus (3.57), alleles per polymorphic locus (3.65), expected (0.48) and observed (0.43) heterozygosity, and coefficient of consanguinity (0.12) revealed that Avati Morotî contains a genetic diversity comparable to the most variable maize races of maize. The cluster analysis classified the 20 populations in eight groups, five of them with a single accession, and a large group representing a central pool of germplasm. These results indicate that there is a large variability available in this race, and encourage the collection of more samples of Avati Morotî, particularly in marginal areas that were scarcely sampled.
Highlights
Several millennia ago, maize (Zea mays L.) originated in Central America and spread through the Americas; the vehicles for that expansion were the Native Americans looking for new lands and crops
The objective of this research was to explore the genetic variability within the main Paraguayan race Avati Morotî
We studied the genetic variability available in the 20 accessions of Paraguayan Avati Morotî included in the South American core collection made by CIMMYT
Summary
Maize (Zea mays L.) originated in Central America and spread through the Americas; the vehicles for that expansion were the Native Americans looking for new lands and crops. The relationship between people and maize created a large diversification of maize into races and varieties. Maize was probably introduced in the central area of South America, including Paraguay, through the Andean Mountains and the coast of Brazil (Vigouroux et al, 2008), while the Guarani people arrive through the Amazonian Forest. Perhaps both have a Caribbean origin, and they started a lasting relationship that endures until today
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