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Adaptability and variation in Isatis tinctoria L.: a new crop for Europe

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Abstract

Isatis tinctoria L. was cultivated until the 19th century to produce indigo, a natural blue pigment used principally for dyestuffs. The current search for alternative crops and interest in natural products has led to reconsidering I. tinctoria as a crop to be grown in marginal areas to produce natural indigo. To reintroduce I. tinctoria into cultivation, its behaviour under different climatic conditions as well as its morpho-physiological and genetic diversity must be assessed in order to evaluate the possibilities of future breeding work. To do this, a Eurasian collection of 15 accessions was studied in a 2-year experiment. The study was carried out in four locations in order to assess plant performance at altitudes ranging from 380 to 1,700 m a.s.l. A second experiment evaluated the morpho-physiological diversity of several traits (some related to agronomic performances) of the collection. In a third experiment the genetic traits of the collection were characterised by using eight AFLP and eight SAMPL markers. The species showed a wide adaptability to different mountainous conditions and the populations showed high morphologic and genetic variability and differed according to their origins. Both morpho-physiological and molecular characterisation allowed the accessions to be distinguished into groups of European and Asian origin. Future breeding work is recommended because some accessions have good agronomic potential.

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Notes

  1. A more detailed characterisation of among accession diversity is presented in the next paragraph.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sulla Montagna – project “Salvaguardia e Valorizzazione della Biodiversità nell’area del Monte Terminillo” – and by the “Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Perugia” – project “Caratterizzazione e miglioramento genetico di Isatis tinctoria L.”. Thanks are due to: the Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) Gatersleben, Germany, for providing most of the examined materials, the personnel of “Centro Appenninco del Terminillo C. Jucci” for technical support and Prof. Luigi Russi, University of Perugia, for helpful advice during the preparation of the manuscript.

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  1. Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale e Biotecnologie Agro-ambientali e Zootecniche (DBVBAZ), Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX giugno 74, 06121, Perugia, Italy

    Giorgia Spataro & Valeria Negri

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  1. Giorgia Spataro
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  2. Valeria Negri
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Correspondence to Valeria Negri.

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Spataro, G., Negri, V. Adaptability and variation in Isatis tinctoria L.: a new crop for Europe. Euphytica 163, 89–102 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-007-9604-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-007-9604-2

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