title: Genetic diversity and structure of Brazilian ginger germplasm (Zingiber officinale) revealed by AFLP markers.
abstract: Ginger is a vegetable with medicinal and culinary properties widely cultivated in the Southern and Southeastern Brazil. The knowledge of ginger species' genetic variability is essential to direct correctly future studies of conservation and genetic improvement, but in Brazil, little is known about this species' genetic variability. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity and structure of 55 Brazilian accessions and 6 Colombian accessions of ginger, using AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) molecular markers. The molecular characterization was based on 13 primers combinations, which generated an average of 113.5 polymorphic loci. The genetic diversity estimates of Nei (Hj), Shannon-Weiner index (I) and an effective number of alleles (ne) were greater in the Colombian accessions in relation to the Brazilian accessions. The analysis of molecular variance showed that most of the genetic variation occurred between the two countries while in the Brazilian populations there is no genetic structure and probably each region harbors 100 % of genetic variation found in the samples. The bayesian model-based clustering and the dendrogram using the dissimilarity's coefficient of Jaccard were congruent with each other and showed that the Brazilian accessions are highly similar between themselves, regardless of the geographic region of origin. We suggested that the exploration of the interspecific variability and the introduction of new varieties of Z.officinale are viable alternatives for generating diversity in breeding programs in Brazil. The introduction of new genetic materials will certainly contribute to a higher genetic basis of such crop.
authors.affiliation: "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture (ESALQ), Department of Genetics, University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil. ezambranob@yahoo.es.|Biotechnology and Agricultural Research Center (CIAB), Open and Distance National University (UNAD), Dosquebradas, Colombia. ezambranob@yahoo.es.
authors.forename: Eleonora Zambrano
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4988-9106
authors.initials: EZ
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture (ESALQ), Department of Genetics, University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Miklos Maximiliano
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Bajay
authors.affiliation: Laboratories Center, Science and Environmental Technology, University of Sagrado Coração (USC), Bauru, SP, 17011-160, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos Vinícius Bohrer Monteiro
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Siqueira
authors.affiliation: São Paulo Agency for Agribusiness Technology (APTA), Piracicaba, SP, 13400-970, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Imaculada
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Zucchi
authors.affiliation: "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture (ESALQ), Department of Genetics, University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Baldin
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
mesh_terms: D054458:Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis; D001947:Breeding; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D020939:Zingiber officinale / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers
keywords: AFLP marker; Clustering; Genetic resources; Molecular characterization; Population structure; Zingiber officinale