Cultural and ethnobotanical legacy of native potatoes in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Native potatoes are Andean tubers of great historical, social, food, genetic and nutritional importance, and they contribute significantly to food security by supplementing the household diet and also providing alternative income. Even when their cultivation and consumption imply great benefits, their use and local preservation depend to a large extent on the recognition of their ethnobotanical and cultural importance. In this context, this study consolidates an important ethnobotanical research bases for native potatoes in Colombia. METHODS: The study collected data through semi-structured interviews and dialogues (130) in the municipality of Chiscas, department of Boyacá, central-eastern Colombia. The questionnaire was focused on native potatoes and sought to investigate the knowledge related to cultivation, diversity, patterns and forms of preparation for use and consumption. Likewise, knowledge heritability mechanisms were investigated and ethnobotanical indices of relative importance, use and culture were estimated. RESULTS: Documentation of ethnobotanical knowledge included aspects such as seed care and availability, cultural management of the crop, patterns of use and consumption, as well as ways of preparing the tubers. In total, 23 vernacular names of native potato and 360 reports of use (commercial, domestic or ritual-magical) were recorded for the 15 main genotypes. Quantitative estimates included the importance index: (a) cultural, for which values ranged between 0.059 and 0.812; (b) relative, with records between 0.04 and 0.43; and (c) use, which ranged between 0.06 and 0.63. The ethnobotanical importance index (d) for native potatoes was 57.26, which corresponds to a "very high" ethnobotanical value. This allowed us to identify that Criollas were the most recognized and used potatoes within the community. In addition, it was shown that vertical transmission is the main way in which traditional knowledge about native potatoes is inherited. Finally, an artificial intelligence tool was preliminarily implemented to identify the polarity generated in the interviewees by the questions. CONCLUSION: The results of this research provide valuable information on the ethnobotany of native potatoes in Colombia. The genotypes used by the community of the municipality of Chiscas were recognized for their high gastronomic and nutritional potential, as well as for their great ethnobotanical and cultural importance. These data can be considered as a valuable tool to support any action aimed at the conservation and revaluation of these tubers.

Morphological and anatomical characterization of yellow diploid potato flower for effective breeding program.

The diploid yellow potato (Solanum tuberosum L. Phureja Group) is an important plant genetic resource. In this study, we report for the first time the characterization of anther development and pollen formation in the cultivar Criolla Colombia. The description of morphological and histological characters of buds and flowers at different developmental stages permitted to identify ten main stages, from the differentiation of the male cells of the sporangium, meiosis, microspores formation and maturation, to the release of mature pollen. In addition, the results provide a graphic guide of the development of the anther, through the sequential and orderly formation of the epidermis, the endothecium, the middle layer and the nutritive layer or tapetum. This microanatomical information will be useful for work focused on androgenesis and identification of gene regulation in floral biology and gamete formation. Therefore, this study determined that to efficiently obtain haploids, flower buds between 5 and 8.9 mm long (stage 6 to 8) should be used, in which tetrads and microspores are in the early uninucleate and binucleate stage.

Phenotypic Characterization of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) for the Selection of Promising Materials for Breeding Programs.

Quinoa is an ancestral crop in the Andean region, characterized by its adaptability to different agroclimatic conditions, great nutritional value, and broad genetic variability. A preliminary approach for understanding the genetics of quinoa materials entails a morphologic characterization, which can provide the basis for the selection of materials that satisfy the needs of farmers and consumers. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the phenotypic characteristics of thirty genetic C. quinoa accessions for the selection of outstanding accessions in terms of yield and grain quality. A randomized complete block design was used, with nine replications for each accession under greenhouse conditions. Nine quantitative and twelve qualitative descriptors were evaluated with descriptive analysis, Spearman correlation variance, and multivariate and cluster analysis. The results showed that the accessions with heights greater than the average (>176.72 cm) and long panicles (>57.94 cm) presented lower yields and smaller seed sizes, thus decreasing the grain quality. The multivariate and cluster analyses established groups of accessions with good yields (>62.02 g of seeds per plant) and stable morphological characteristics. The proposed selection index, based on yield components and morphological descriptors, indicated four accessions as potential parents for quinoa breeding programs in Colombia.

Effects of catalase on chloroplast arrangement in Opuntia streptacantha chlorenchyma cells under salt stress.

In arid and semiarid regions, low precipitation rates lead to soil salinity problems, which may limit plant establishment, growth, and survival. Herein, we investigated the NaCl stress effect on chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthetic-pigments, movement and chloroplasts ultrastructure in chlorenchyma cells of Opuntia streptacantha cladodes. Cladodes segments were exposed to salt stress at 0, 100, 200, and 300 mM NaCl for 8, 16, and 24 h. The results showed that salt stress reduced chlorophyll content, F v /F m , ΦPSII, and qP values. Under the highest salt stress treatments, the chloroplasts were densely clumped toward the cell center and thylakoid membranes were notably affected. We analyzed the effect of exogenous catalase in salt-stressed cladode segments during 8, 16, and 24 h. The catalase application to salt-stressed cladodes counteracted the NaCl adverse effects, increasing the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, photosynthetic-pigments, and avoided chloroplast clustering. Our results indicate that salt stress triggered the chloroplast clumping and affected the photosynthesis in O. streptacantha chlorenchyma cells. The exogenous catalase reverted the H2O2 accumulation and clustering of chloroplast, which led to an improvement of the photosynthetic efficiency. These data suggest that H2O2 detoxification by catalase is important to protect the chloroplast, thus conserving the photosynthetic activity in O. streptacantha under stress.