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Author(s)

Helen Alves Penha

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2008-01-31
• Advisor: Maria Lucia Carneiro Vieira

Abstract

The Passiflora genus contains approximately 450 tropical and subtropical species. Some of them have increasing commercial value and are cultivated for their fruit characteristics, as ornamental plants or due to medical value. Besides Passiflora edulis Sims f. flavicarpa Deg., the yellow passion fruit, Passiflora alata Curtis, the sweet passion fruit is growing presence in the market for fresh consumption. However, there are no commercial varieties based on genetic breeding programs, and the orchards are susceptible to some pests and diseases. Therefore efforts to improve fruit production and develop resistant varieties should be done. The development of molecular markers is important for this process, as markers could be linked to genomic regions that control agronomical traits. Microsatellites are the most informative class of genetic markers. The objective of this study was the development of microsatellites for Passiflora alata, based on transferability of primers designed for P. edulis flavicarpa; the construction of a microsatellite-enriched genomic library and the design of primers for those sequences; and the validation of a sample of primer-pairs using part of a segregating population (F1) of Passiflora alata and its parents. Transferability level was 34%, indicating that those microsatellite-flanking regions are conserved in both species. The enriched genomic library produced 221 clones containing microsatellites, meaning an efficiency of the enrichment process of 42%. Primer pairs were designed for 177 sequences, a sample of 59 of them was validated and the alleles were identified. PCR amplifications of good quality were obtained suggesting the use of these loci in Passiflora alata genetic studies (AU)