Ex-situ conservation of native potato varieties. Case study of the ‘Collareja’ variety of northwestern Argentina

ABSTRACT

The native Andean potato Solanum tuberosum Group Andigenum, it has been cultivated for millennia in the Northwest Andes of Argentina. The native potato varieties have a large diversity of shapes and colors of their tubers. One of the most widely distributed varieties in the NOA is the variety ̒Collareja̕. In the Active Bank of Germplasm of the EEA Balcarce - INTA (BAL) accessions of variety ̒Collareja̕ are conserved, sampled from different departments and localities of Jujuy. In this study, the genetic variability of the accessions of the ̒Collareja̕ variety conserved in the BAL was examined, while in parallel, a sample of ̒Collareja̕ from an Andean farmer’s field was evaluated morphologically and molecularly. The variability was examined with morphological descriptors and four Simple Sequence Repeat (SSRs). The spatial distribution of the phenotypic and molecular markers was calculated with multivariate statistical techniques, and the Polymorphic Index Content (PIC) was estimated for each SSR. The results revealed variability at the morphological and genomic level in the tubers of the ̒Collareja̕ sample of the farmer’s field. The accessions of ̒Collareja̕ of the BAL also showed molecular variability, but differential with regard to that estimated in the farmer’s field and with higher polymorphism according to the PIC values. With these preliminary results we discussed the morphological and molecular variability found, its possible impact on germplasm sampling, and ex situ and in situ conservation strategies on Andean potato varieties in general and ̒Collareja̕ in particular.

Keywords: Solanum tuberosum Group Andigenum, traditional farming, in situ and ex situ conservation, microsatellites.

¹Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria (EEA), Balcarce, Banco Activo de Germoplasma, Ruta 226 km 73,5 (7620) Balcarce, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Correo electrónico: atencio.hugo@inta.gob.ar

²Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias (FCA), Cátedra de Botánica Agrícola. Balcarce, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

³Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria (EEA) Balcarce, Laboratorio de Agrobiotecnología, Ruta 226, km 73,5 (7620), Balcarce, Buenos Aires, Argentina.