Unconventional vegetables collected in Brazil: chromosome number and description of nuclear DNA content

Luis Felipe Lima E Silva,Carolina Queiroz Samartini,Kátia Ferreira Marques De Resende,Luciane Vilela Resende,Vânia Helena Techio,Guilherme Tomaz Braz

doi:10.1590/1984-70332017v17n4a49

Luis Felipe Lima E Silva, Carolina Queiroz Samartini + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-70332017v17n4a49

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Abstract

Abstract The aim of this study was to perform chromosome counts and nuclear DNA quantification of the unconventional vegetables species: bertalha (Basella alba L.), vinagreira verde (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.), azedinha (Rumex acetosa L.), peixinho (Stachys byzantina K. Koch), and capuchinha (Tropaeolum majus L.). Metaphase chromosomes were obtained from the pre-treatment of root meristem with 8-hydroxyquinoline or colchicine and lides were prepared by the flame-drying technique and stained with 5% Giemsa. DNA quantification was performed by flow cytometry. Chromosome number and DNA content (pg) estimated for each species were: Rumex acetosa: 2n=2x=14 and 7.04 pg; Basella alba: 2n=2x=44 and 7.05 pg; Tropaeolum majus: 2n=2x=28 and 2.08 pg; Stachys byzantine: 2n=2x=30 and 1.54 pg, and Hibiscus sabdariffa: 2n=4x=72 and 5.12 pg.

Highlights

Some vegetable species have already been widely cultivated and used in human feeding; due to several factors, consumption of these plants has become restricted to some traditional populations
All the plants come from the collection of unconventional vegetable germplasm, located in the experimental garden of the Federal University of Lavras in Minas gerais State, Brazil
The chromosome number 2n=14 observed in Rumex acetosa is similar to the results presented by Ainsworth et al (2005) and by Mariotti et al (2006), obtained for diploid and female varieties of this species, in England and Spain, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Some vegetable species have already been widely cultivated and used in human feeding; due to several factors, consumption of these plants has become restricted to some traditional populations. They have been denominated as traditional or unconventional (Brazil 2010, 2013). The knowledge on the taxonomy and genetic diversity of unconventional vegetable varieties grown in Brazil is limited. For this reason, these crops have been produced, in most cases, without proper agronomic management, using mixtures of propagating materials, with no quality standards. Little information on the similarities and genetic differences presented by these species is reported in the literature

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