title: Genetic analysis identifies the region of origin of smuggled peach palm seeds.
abstract: Seeds of a plant, supposedly a palm tree known popularly as peach palm (Bactris gasipaes), were seized by the Federal Police in the state of Pará, Brazil, without documentation of legal origin to authorize transportation and marketing in Brazil. They were alleged to be from the western part of Amazonas, Brazil, near the frontier with Peru and Colombia, justifying the lack of documentation. The species was confirmed to be peach palm. To determine the likely place of origin, a genetic analysis was performed to determine the relationship between the seized seeds and representative populations of peach palm from all of Amazonia, maintained in the Peach palm Core Collection, at the National Research Institute for Amazonia, using nine microsatellite loci. Reynolds' coancestry analysis showed a strong relationship between the seeds and the Pampa Hermosa landrace, around Yurimaguas, Peru. The Structure program, used to infer the probability of an individual belonging to a given population, showed that most seeds grouped with populations close to Yurimaguas, Peru, corroborating the coancestry analysis. The Pampa Hermosa landrace is the main source of spineless peach palm seeds used in the Brazilian heart-of-palm agribusiness, which motivated the smugglers to attempt this biopiracy.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Criminalística do Amazonas-Departamento de Polícia Técnico-Científica-Polícia Civil do Amazonas, Av. Noel Nutels, 300, Cidade Nova, Manaus, AM, 69040-000, Brazil; Laboratório de Evolução Aplicada, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Av. Gal. Rodrigo Otávio Jordão Ramos, 3000, Coroado, 69077-000 Manaus, AM, Brazil. Electronic address: michelly_araujo@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Michelly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cristo-Araújo
authors.affiliation: Superintendência Regional de Polícia Federal do Amazonas, Av. Domingos Jorge Velho, 40, Dom Pedro II, 69042-470 Manaus, AM, Brazil; Laboratório de Evolução Aplicada, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Av. Gal. Rodrigo Otávio Jordão Ramos, 3000, Coroado, 69077-000 Manaus, AM, Brazil.
authors.forename: David Bronze
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Molles
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Evolução Aplicada, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Av. Gal. Rodrigo Otávio Jordão Ramos, 3000, Coroado, 69077-000 Manaus, AM, Brazil.
authors.forename: Doriane Picanço
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Petrópolis, 69067-375 Manaus, AM, Brazil.
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Clement
mesh_terms: D028023:Arecaceae / Q000235:genetics*; D001938:Brazil; D003132:Commerce; D003415:Crime; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant
keywords: Bactris gasipaes; Biopiracy; Genetic analysis; Microsatellites; Origin