Investigating Phenotypic Diversity in a Germplasm Collection of Scarlet Eggplant under Mediterranean Conditions

Year 2024, , 6 - 21, 30.03.2024

Flavien Shimira , Hatice Filiz Boyacı , Hatıra Taşkın

https://doi.org/10.16882/hortis.1413023

Abstract

This study aimed to determine phenotypic diversity in the germplasm collection of Solanum aethiopicum, also known as scarlet eggplant, under Mediterranean conditions. Two different experiments were established in which morphological and valuable agronomic traits were employed to measure diversity among 57 and 55 accessions, respectively. The experiments were carried out in a greenhouse and open field, and descriptors designated by the European Cooperative Program for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) and the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) were used to measure the plants and fruits. The results from descriptive statistics on quantitative traits data of plants and fruits show a great variation among accessions of Solanum aethiopicum. Multiple correlation analysis in the two distinct experiments shows that the highly correlated variables/descriptors represented fruit quantitative traits. Finally, results from principal component analysis (PCA) confirm that the overall differences observed in the germplasm collection of Solanum aethiopicum were mainly due to fruit quantitative traits, which are decisive for phenotypic characterization of this eggplant.

Keywords

African eggplant, Greenhouse, Open field, Solanum aethiopicum gr. Gilo, Valuable agronomic traits

References

• Adeniji, O.T., Kusolwa, P.M., & Reuben, S.O.W.M. (2012). Genetic diversity among accessions of Solanum aethiopicum L. groups based on morpho-agronomic traits. Plant Genetic Resources, 10:177-185.
• Bationo-Kando, P., Sawadogo, B., Nanema, K.R., Kiebre, Z., Sawadogo, M., & Zongo, J.D. (2015). Characterization of Solanum aethiopicum (Kumba group) in Burkina Faso. International Journal of Science and Nature, 6:169–176.
• Boyaci, H.F., Prohens, J., Unlu, A., Gumrukcu, E., Oten, M., & Plazas, M. (2020). Association of heterotic groups with morphological relationships and general combining ability in eggplant. Agriculture, 10:203.
• Caguiat, X.G.I., & Hautea, D.M., (2014). Genetic diversity analysis of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) and related wild species in the Philippines using morphological and SSR markers. SABRAO Journal of Breeding and Genetics, 46:183–201.
• Context Network (2016). Rwanda early generation seed study: Country report. https://reliefweb.int/report /rwanda/rwanda-early-generation-seed-study-country -report. Accessed date: September 7, 2022.
• Dijkxhoorn, Y., Saavedra Gonzalez, Y., & Judge, L.O. (2016). Horticulture and floriculture in Rwanda: Identification of focus areas for sector development. https://www.wur.nl/en/Publication-details.htm?publica tion Id=publication-way-353134333031. Accessed date: September 7, 2022.
• Dusengemungu, L., Igiraneza, C., & Uwimbabazi, S. (2019). Plant biotechnology: A key tool to improve crop production in Rwanda. African Journal of Biotechnology, 18:68–76.
• Eletta, O.A.A., Orimolade, B.O., Oluwaniyi, O.O., & Dosumu, O.O. (2017). Evaluation of proximate and antioxidant activities of Ethiopian eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum L) and gboma Eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon L). Journal of Applied Science and Environmental Management, 21:967–972.
• Foo, P.C., Lee, Z.H., Chin, C.K., Subramaniam, S., & Chew, B.L. (2018). Shoot Induction in white eggplant (Solanum melongena L. Cv. Bulat Putih) using 6-Benzylaminopurine and Kinetin. Tropical Life Sciences Research, 29:119–129.
• Gapusi, R.J., Isibo, T., Nyirigira, R.A., Gashamura, R.F., Sirikari, S., Uwimana, J.D.A., Byamushana, C., Bizeye, B., & Hakizimana, P. (2013). The state of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in Rwanda, Country Report. Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), Kigali.
• Gramazio, P., Blanca, J., Ziarsolo, P., Herraiz, F.J., Plazas, M., Prohens, J., & Vilanova, S. (2016). Transcriptome analysis and molecular marker discovery in Solanum incanum and S. aethiopicum, two close relatives of the brinjal eggplant (Solanum melongena) with interest for breeding. BMC Genomics, 17: 300.
• Haliński, Ł.P., Samuels, J., & Stepnowski, P. (2017). Multivariate analysis as a key tool in chemotaxonomy of brinjal eggplant, African eggplants and wild related species. Phytochemistry, 144:87–97.
• Isshiki, S., Uchiyama, T., Tashiro, Y., & Miyazaki, S. (1998). RFLP analysis of a PCR amplified region of chloroplast DNA in eggplant and related Solanum species. Euphytica, 102:295–299.
• Kamga, R.T., Kouamé, C., Atangana, A.R., Abdulai, M.S., & Tenkouano, A. (2015). Characterization of African eggplant accessions for morphological and yield parameters in the bimodal rainfall agroecology of Cameroon. Acta Horticulturae, 1102:109–120.
• Kamga, R.T., Kouamé, C., Atangana, A.R., Chagomoka, T., & Ndango, R. (2013). Nutritional evaluation of five African indigenous vegetables. Journal of Horticultural Research, 21:99-106.
• Kansiime, M.K., Ochieng, J., Kessy, R., Karanja, D., Romney, D., & Afari-Sefa, V. (2018). Changing knowledge and perceptions of African indigenous vegetables: The role of community-based nutritional outreach. Development in Practice, 28: 480–493.
• Knapp, S., Aubriot, X., & Prohens, J. (2019). Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.): Taxonomy and Relationships. In M. Chapman (Ed), The Eggplant Genome. Compendium of Plant Genomes. Springer, Cham, pp 11–22. Knapp, S., Vorontsova, M.S., & Prohens, J. (2013). Wild relatives of the eggplant (Solanum melongena L.: Solanaceae): New understanding of species names in a complex group. PLoS One, 8:e57039.
• Kouassi, A., Béli-Sika, E., Tian-Bi, T., Alla-N’Nan, O., Kouassi, A., N'Zi, J.C., N'Guetta, A.S.P., & Tio-Touré, B. (2014). Identification of three distinct eggplant subgroups within the Solanum aethiopicum gilo group from Côte d’Ivoire by morpho-agronomic characterization. Agriculture, 4:260–273.
• Larochelle, C., & Alwang, J.R. (2014). Impacts of improved bean varieties on food security in Rwanda In: 2014 Annual meeting - Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Conferences-2014 Annual Meeting. Minneapolis, pp 1–27.
• Lester, R.N., & Daunay, M.C. (2003). Diversity of African vegetable Solanum species and its implications for a better understanding of plant domestication. In H. Knüpffer, & J. Ochsmann (Eds), Proceedings of a symposium dedicated to the 100th birthday of Rudolf Mansfeld (8-9 October 2001). Zentralstelle für Agrardokumentation und -information (ZADI), Gatersleben, pp 136–152.
• Mibei, E.K., Owino, W., Ambuko, J., Giovannoni, J.J., & Onyango, A.N. (2018). Metabolomic analyses to evaluate the effect of drought stress on selected African Eggplant accessions. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 98:205–216.
• Mujuju, C. (2018). Identifying Leading Seed Companies in Western and Central Africa. Access to Seeds Foundation, Harare.
• Osei, M.K., Banful, B., Osei, C.K., & Oluoch, M.O. (2010). Characterization of African eggplant for morphological characteristics. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 4:33–37.
• Plazas, M., Andújar, I., Vilanova, S., Gramazio, P., Javier Herraiz, F., & Prohens, J. (2014). Conventional and phenomics characterization provides insight into the diversity and relationships of hypervariable scarlet (Solanum aethiopicum L.) and gboma (S. macrocarpon L.) eggplant complexes. Frontiers in Plant Science, 5:318.
• Prasad, P.V.V., Hijmans, R.J., Pierzynski, G.M., & Middendorf, J.B. (2016). Climate Smart Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification: Assessment and Priority Setting for Rwanda. Feed the Future Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab (Kansas State University), Manhattan, KS.
• Prohens, J., Blanca, J., & Nuez, F. (2005). Morphological and molecular variation in a collection of eggplants from a secondary center of diversity: Implications for conservation and breeding. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 130:54–63.
• Sakhanokho, H.F., Islam-Faridi, M.N., Blythe, E.K., Smith, B J., Rajasekaran, K., & Majid, M.A. (2014). Morphological and cytomolecular assessment of intraspecific variability in Scarlet eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum L.). Journal of Crop Improvement, 28:437–453.
• Schreinemachers, P., Sequeros, T., & Lukumay, P.J. (2017). International research on vegetable improvement in East and Southern Africa: Adoption, impact, and returns. Agricultural Economics, 48:707–717.
• Shimira, F., Afloukou, F., & Maniriho, F. (2020). A review on challenges and prospects of potato (Solanum tuberosum) production systems in Rwanda. Journal of Horticulture and Postharvest Research, 3:97–112.
• Shimira, F., Boyaci, H.F., Çilesiz, Y., Nadeem, M.A., Baloch, F.S., & Taşkin, H. (2021). Exploring the genetic diversity and population structure of scarlet eggplant germplasm from Rwanda through iPBS-retrotransposon markers. Molecular Biology Reports, 48:6323-6333.
• Song, B., Song, Y., Fu, Y., Kizito, E. B., Kamenya, S.N., Kabod, P.N., Liu, H., Muthemba, S., Kariba, R., Njuguna, J., Maina, S., Stomeo, F., Djikeng, A., Hendre, P.S., Chen, X., Chen, W., Li, X., Sun, W., Wang, S., Cheng, S., Muchugi, A., Jamnadass, R., Shapiro, H.Y., Van Deynze, A., Yang, H., Wang, J., Xu, X., Odeny, D.A., & Liu, X. (2019). Draft genome sequence of Solanum aethiopicum provides insights into disease resistance, drought tolerance, and the evolution of the genome. GigaScience, 8:giz115.
• Sseremba, G. (2019). Genetic diversity and breeding of Solanum aethiopicum shum group for drought tolerance. Dissertation, University of Ghana.
• Taher, D., Solberg, S.Ø., Prohens, J., Chou, Y.Y., Rakha, M., & Wu, T.H. (2017) World vegetable center eggplant collection : Origin, composition, seed dissemination and utilization in Breeding. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8:1484.
• Uwamahoro, F., Yuen, J., Berlin, A., Bucagu, C., & Bylund, H. (2020). Ralstonia solanacearum causing potato bacterial wilt: Host range and cultivars’ susceptibility in Rwanda. Plant Pathology, 69:559–568.
• Van Dijk, N., & Elings, A. (2014). Horticulture in Rwanda: Possibilities for Further Development. BoP Innovation Center – 28 (Wageningen University), Wageningen.
• Weller, S.C., Van Wyk, E., & Simon, J.E. (2015). Sustainable production for more resilient food production systems: Case study of African indigenous vegetables in eastern Africa. Acta Horticulturae, 1102:289–297.
• Zhuang, Y., Zhou, X., & Wang, S. (2012). Genetic diversity of NBS-LRR class disease-resistance gene analogs in cultivated and wild eggplants. Plant Systematics and Evolution, 298:1399–1406.