Abstract
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a pseudocereal originated from the Andes important for small farmers’ food security as well as for commercial production. Recently, it has been claimed that in Bolivia genetic erosion could result from the marginalization of the crop in the north and from its commercial standardization in the south. The aim of this study was to quantify the hierarchical structure of the genetic variation present in eight quinoa field populations, consisting of cultivated and weedy individuals, representative of the altiplano and interandean valleys of Bolivia. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers show that quinoa has a strong population structure and a high intra-population variation. An effect of geographical structure of the populations was highlighted, due to population isolation, not simply linked to distance but more probably to climatic and orographic barriers present in the studied zone. The population structure is also reinforced by the limited seed exchanges among farmers as revealed by field interviews. This population structure appears related to three major biogeographic zones: the northern and central altiplano, the interandean valley, and the southern Salar. Intrapopulation genetic diversity was higher than that expected for a mainly autogamous species, and higher than that reported in anterior studies based on germplasm collections. These results are commented in view of current knowledge on phylogeny and reproductive biology of the species, and their implications regarding genetic resources management are discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bonifacio A, Mujica A, Alvarez A, Roca W (2001) Mejoramiento genético, germoplasma y producción de semillas. In: Mujica A, Jacobsen SE, Izquierdo JI, Marathée JP (eds) Quinua (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.): ancestral cultivo andino, alimento del presente y futuro. CD-Rom: Cultivos Andinos Version 1.0. FAO, Santiago Chile
Brush SB (1998) Crop diversity in mountain areas and conservation strategy. Rev Géogr Alpine 4:115–130
Djé Y, Forcioli D, Ater M, Lefèbvre C, Vekemans X (1999) Assessing population genetic structure of sorghum landraces from north-western Morocco using allozyme and microstallite markers. Theor Appl Genet 99:157–163
Doebley JF, Goodman MM, Stuber CW (1985) Isozyme variation in the races of maize from Mexico. Am J Bot 72:629–639
Excoffier L, Smouse PE, Quattro M (1992) Analysis of molecular variance inferred from metric distances among DNA haplotypes: application to human mitochondrial DNA restriction data. Genetics 131:479–491
François C, Bosseno R, Vacher JJ, Seguin B (1999) Frost risk mapping derived from satellite and surface data over the Bolivian altiplano. Agric For Meteor 95:113–137
Fritsch P, Rieseberg LH (1996) The use of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) in conservation genetics. In: Smith TB, Wayne RK (eds) Molecular genetic approaches in conservation. Oxford University Press, New York USA, pp 54–73
Gandarillas H (1979) Genética y origen. In: Tapia ME et al (eds) Quinua y kañihua, cultivos andinos. IICA, Bogota, Colombia, pp 45–64
Garcia M, Raes D, Jacobsen SE (2002) Evapotranspiration analysis and irrigation requirements of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) in the Bolivian highlands. Agric Water Manag 1799:1–16
Hellin J, Higman S (2003) Quinoa and food security. In: Hellin J, Higman S (eds) Feeding the market: South American farmers, trade and globalization. Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) Publishing, London UK, pp 131–168
Laguna P (2002) Competitividad, externalidades e internalidades, un reto para las organizaciones económicas campesinas: la inserción de la Asociación Nacional de Productores de Quinua en el Mercado mundial de la quinua. Debate Agrario, Centro Peruano de Estudios Sociales (CEPES) 34:95–169
Le Tacon P, Vacher JJ, Eldin M, Imaña E (1992) Los riesgos de helada en el Altiplano boliviano. In: Morales D and Vacher JJ (eds) Actas del VII Congreso Internacional sobre Cultivos Andinos. Orstom, La Paz, Bolivia, pp 287–291
Morden CW, Doebley J, Scherts KF (1989) Allozyme variation in old world races of Sorghum bicolor (Poaceae). Am J Bot 76:247–255
Morlon P (1996) Comprender la agricultura campesina en los Andes Centrales, Perú y Bolivia. IFEA, CBC, Lima, Perú
National Research Council (1989) Lost crops of the Incas:␣little-known plants of Andes with promise for worldwide cultivation. National Academy Press, Washington, USA
Nybom H (2004) Comparison of different nuclear DNA markers for estimating intraspecific genetic diversity in plants. Mol Ecol 13:1143–1155
Nybom H, Bartish IV (2000) Effects of life history and sampling strategies on genetic diversity estimates obtained with RAPD markers in plants. Evol System 3:93–114
Pearsall DM (1992) The origins of plant cultivation in South America. In: Cowan CW, Watson PJ (eds) The origins of agriculture. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, USA, pp 173–205
Ruas PM, Bonifacio A, Ruas CF, Fairbanks DJ, Andersen WR (1999) Genetic relationship among 19 accessions of six species of Chenopodium L., by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA fragments (RAPD). Euphytica 105:25–32
Samañez R (1977) Biología floral en dos líneas de quinua (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). Thesis Ing. Agro. Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno, Perú
Schneider S, Roessli D, Excoffier L (2000) Arlequin Ver. 2.0: a software for populations genetics data analysis. University of Geneva, Switzerland
Vacher JJ (1998) Responses of two main Andean crops, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) and papa amarga (Solanum juzepczukii Buk.) to drought on the Bolivian altiplano: significance of local adaptation. Agric Ecosyst Environ 68:99–108
Wilson HD (1981) Genetic variation among South America populations of tetraploid Chenopodium sect. Chenopodium subsect. Cellulata. Syst Bot 6:380–398
Wilson HD (1988a) Allozyme variation and morphological relationship of Chenopodium hircinum (s.l.). Syst Bot 13:215–228
Wilson HD (1988b) Quinua biosystematics. I: domesticated populations. Econ Bot 42:461–477
Wilson HD (1988c) Quinua biosystematics. II: free-living populations. Econ Bot 42:478–494
Wilson HD (1990) Quinua and relatives (Chenopodium sect. Chenopodium subsect. Cellulata). Econ Bot 44:92–110
Wilson HD, Manhart J (1993) Crop/weed gene flow: Chenopodium quinoa Willd. and C. berlandieri Moq. Theor Appl Genet 86:642–648
Zimmerer KS (1996) Changing fortunes: biodiversity and peasant livelihood in the Peruvian Andes. University of California Press, Berkeley, USA
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Bolivian farmers and extension agents met during our prospections for the generous provision of quinoa material. We also thank Gaëtan Rochez for its skillful assistance in the laboratory, and Sam Geerts for improving the quality of the text. This work was co-financed by the “Institut de Recherche pour le Développement” (IRD, french institute of scientific cooperation) and the “Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques” of Gembloux (Belgium). CDC gratefully acknowledges the support of a doctoral grant of the “Département Soutien et Formation” of the IRD.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
del Castillo, C., Winkel, T., Mahy, G. et al. Genetic structure of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) from the Bolivian altiplano as revealed by RAPD markers. Genet Resour Crop Evol 54, 897–905 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-006-9151-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-006-9151-z