RESUMEN
Taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott, Araceae), an ancient root and tuber crop, is highly polygenic, polyphyletic, and polygeographic in nature, which leads to its rapid genetic erosion. To prevent the perceived loss of taro diversity, species discrimination and genetic conservation of promising taro genotypes need special attention. Reports on genetic discrimination of taro at its center of origin are still untapped. We performed DNA barcoding of twenty promising genotypes of taro indigenous to the northeastern hill region of India, deploying two chloroplast-plastid genes, matK and rbcL, and the ribosomal nuclear gene ITS2. The secondary structure of ITS2 was determined and molecular phylogeny was performed to assess genetic discrimination among the taro genotypes. The matK and rbcL genes were highly efficient (>90%) in amplification and sequencing. However, the ITS2 barcode region achieved significant discrimination among the tested taro genotypes. All the taro genotypes displayed most similar sequences at the conserved matK and rbcL loci. However, distinct sequence lengths were observed in the ITS2 barcode region, revealing accurate discriminations among the genotypes. Multiple barcode markers are unrelated to one another and change independently, providing different estimations of heritable traits and genetic lineages; thus, they are advantageous over a single locus in genetic discrimination studies. A dynamic programming algorithm that used base-pairing interactions within a single nucleic acid polymer or between two polymers transformed the secondary structures into the symbol code data to predict seven different minimum free energy secondary structures. Our analysis strengthens the potential of the ITS2 gene as a potent DNA barcode candidate in the prediction of a valuable secondary structure that would help in genetic discrimination between the genotypes while augmenting future breeding strategies in taro.
Asunto(s)
Colocasia , Código de Barras del ADN Taxonómico , Colocasia/genética , Fitomejoramiento , Filogenia , IndiaRESUMEN
Nutrition-rich extruded snacks were developed from a mixture of cornflour, Bengal gram flour fortified by tree bean (TB) powder (0, 5, and 10%) using a twin-screw extruder. The nutritional, antioxidant, and amino acid profile and structural, functional, and sensory properties of the ready-to-eat (RTE) extruded snacks were evaluated. Ash, protein, and fiber content in TB-fortified extrudates were increased, whereas nitrogen-free extract was decreased. Total phenolics (2.34 mg g-1 FW), ascorbate (2.23 mg g-1 FW), total flavonoids (0.16 mg g-1 FW), and reduced glutathione (8.53 µM g-1 FW) were higher in the extrudates with 10% TB powder. Similarly, RTE extruded snacks fortified by 10% TB exhibited higher DPPH, FRAP, ABTS, hydroxyl radical activities, reducing power, and essential amino acids, such as lysine, leucine, isoleucine, cysteine, threonine, tyrosine, and methionine derived by HPLC. Extrudates fortified by 5% TB powder exhibited better microstructure through scanning electron microscopy. However, 10% TB powder possessed higher physicochemical properties and overall sensory attributes. This study reveals the tremendous industrial potential of nutrient-rich RTE extruded snacks fortified by underutilized TB (10%). Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05251-w.