Genetic and metabolomic differentiation of Physalis ixocarpa Brot. ex Hornem. populations in Michoacan State, Mexico

• Published in: Genetic resources and crop evolution Vol. 69; no. 5; pp. 1867 - 1877
• Main Authors: Martínez-Vega, A. L., Oregel-Zamudio, E., García-Ruíz, I., Villapando-Arteaga, E. V., Torres-García, J. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-06-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Alcohols; Aldehydes; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cereal crops; Chloroplasts; Differentiation; DNA fingerprinting; Domestication; Fingerprinting; Fruits; Genetic resources; Genetic structure; Indigenous species; Life Sciences; Metabolomics; Organoleptic properties; Physalis ixocarpa; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Populations; Research Article; Signatures; Sweetness; Mexico; Domestication; GC–MS; Tomate milpero; Metabolomic fingerprinting; Chapala
• ISSN: 0925-9864; 1573-5109
• DOI: 10.1007/s10722-022-01347-0

Physalis ixocarpa
Brot. ex Hornem. is a native species consumed in many localities of the Cienega-Chapala in the Mexican state of Michoacán. These plants are cultivated into traditional maize crops (
Zea mays
L.). The fruits are similar to
P. philadelphica
Lam., but the differences are in the fruit size and organoleptic properties (flavor, sweetness). According to records of domestication that this zone represents in Mexico, it is possible that
P. ixocarpa
shows incipient differentiation signals in genetic structure and metabolomic fingerprinting. Our objective was to find evidences of genetic and metabolomic differentiation among populations of
P. ixocarpa
in the Cienega-Chapala. We used the sequencing of the chloroplast intergenic sequences
psbJ–petA
and
trnL–rpL32,
and the metabolomic fingerprinting by GC–MS. The results showed that exist genetic differentiation (F
ST
) and signatures of selection (Fu's Fs' neutrality test) among populations. Moreover the metabolomic fingerprinting showed differences among populations and an increase of aldehydes, aromatic aldehydes, ester, and alcohols related with organoleptic properties of
P. ixocarpa
. We conclude that
P. ixocarpa
is an important genetic resource with signatures of differentiation in the Cienega-Chapala, Mexico that eventually could be related with domestication signatures.