Genetic Diversity, Nutritional and Phytochemical Composition, and Micropropagation of Enset (Ensete Ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) Landraces Used in Traditional Medicine
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Date
2020-07-18
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) is a multipurpose food crop extensively cultivated in southern and southwestern parts of Ethiopia. In addition to its food and feed value, some enset landraces are also used in traditional medicine in some parts of the country. The current study was conducted to investigate the genetic diversity, nutritional and phytochemical composition of enset landraces used in traditional medicine, and also to develop micropropagation protocol. Forty enset landraces used in traditional medicine were identified from four Administrative Zones and one special District in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. The genetic diversity of these landraces was assessed using 14 qualitative traits and 15 simple sequences repeats (SSR) markers. Proximate, mineral and phytochemical compositions of corms of three of the landraces (astara, kibnar and guarye) used in traditional medicine were analysed by following standard methods, and compared with two landraces (amerat and yeshiraqinke) that have other use-values. Micropropagation of two most important landraces (guarye and kibnar) using shoot tip explants was conducted on Murashige and Skoog medium containing different concentrations of plant growth regulators, 6-benzyl amino-purine (BAP) and Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and cefotaxime antibiotics. Although there is a slight variation in grouping pattern, both the principal component and cluster analysis of the qualitative data clustered the landraces in to 4, irrespective of their origin. Both analyzes showed that, the landraces with different vernacular names have distinct character. The principal component analysis also showed that all the 14 qualitative traits contributed for the variation among the landraces. In the analysis of proximate, mineral and phytochemical composition, the three landraces used in traditional medicine, generally showed higher protein, phosphorus, zinc and tannin contents than other landraces. This could be the reason for selective use of these landraces in traditional medicine, as the compounds are reported to have different health benefit. In the genetic diversity study using SSR markers, a total of 38 alleles, were detected. Similar to qualitative data, cluster analysis of SSR data grouped the landraces in to 4, but in different clustering pattern. Except two (bisha-eset and mekelwesa), all the landraces with different vernacular names were genetically diverse, confirming that vernacular names are good indicators of genetic distinctiveness. At the initiation stage of micropropagation, significantly highest contamination (17.67%) was recorded from an MS medium without cefotaxime than remaining two treatments (250 mg l-1 and 500 mg l-1). The highest mean shoot number (8.8+1.40) per shoot tip was regenerated on MS medium containing 5.0 mgl-1 BAP + 1.0 mg l-1 IBA, and from the two landraces, higher mean shoot number (6.88) per shoot tip was obtained from guarye. The highest root number (3.0) per shoot was obtained from both full and half-strength MS medium containing 3.0 mgl-1 IBA and 2.0 mgl-1 IBA, respectively. The result showed that almost all landraces with differnet vernacular name were genetically distinct and shall be conserved. Landraces used in traditional medicine are, generally higher in protein, phosphorus, zink and tannin content than other landraces, and the selective use of these landraces in the treatment of bone fracture, traditionally, is reasonable. Enset landraces, guarye and kibnar, can be successfully propagated in vitro, and the protocol developed will be used for rapid multiplication the landraces, and it can be applied for related genotypes.
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Keywords
Ensete Ventricosum, Genetic Diversity, Micropropagation, Nutritional Composition, Phenotypic Traits, Ssr Markers, Phytochemical