Uruku Post 3

Improving Plants

The B. Orellana plant (uruku) is considered to be a xenogamus species. This means that the plant requires crossed pollination to reproduce. 

GMO Plants

I believe the use of transgenics plants in agriculture is an very advance technology in improving the genetics of a plant. I am completely in favor of using transgenic plants in agriculture. I believe it gives a huge advantage to the producer in having a more safe and reliable crop. GMO's is technology will allow many countries to become food secure and also reduce deforestatoin due to that you can increase the yield of crops. In many 3rd world countries yields are very low compared to 1st world countries and this is causes for higher rates of deforestation and no food security in that country. looking into a environmental point of viw, by having GMO's you can even reduce the area of production, produce more food and at the same tie have space to produce crops used for biogass, energy and others. 

Breeding programs of Uruku in Brasil 

In Brasil many studies have been done. They issolated wild B. Orellana plants as well as some that where already cultivated by humans. the wild plants had a bigger genetic variablity but where genetically different from themselves do to environmental issolation. This is caused due to the collection of wild plants in various regions of the brasilian rainforest. From the 32 different Microsatelite locai that where used, they found that 12 of them where polymorphic. The main goal of the breeding program is to increase the level of bixin in the seeds, which is the compound used to produce the coloring. Some of the cataloged plants showed a level of Bixin well above average and this where used in the breeding program to create a more apealing plant for production. Another goal was to improve the reproduction capability of the plant which many wild individual plants where used do to the genotypes they contained. In this breeding program, the technic used was the traditional technich of crossing individuals with very similar genetic characteristics as well as indiviuals with unique genetic characteristics.

Results

The results of the breeding program was that comercially now a days the level of bixin in annato seeds have risen giving a better yield and making the production of annato a more appealing busisnes to investors. Now a days a seed contains around 4-6 % of pigment. From this pigment 80% is bixin which is used for commercial purposes.

Genotype and Phenotype

The annato plant is a highly adaptable plant being able to adapt to any tropical and subtropical climate. Do to this feature if an individual plant containing the same genotypes is sewed in a different area to where it is, which has climatical conditions to its growth (no Frost) it will present the same phenotypes. This happens because the genetic information of the plant is the same, and since it is highly adaptable to different tropical and subtropical regions, it will be able to display it's phenotypes completely. 

References

Dequigiovanni, G. (2019). Genetic structure, mating system and domestication of annatto (<em>Bixa orellana</em> L.) using molecular markers. https://doi.org/10.11606/t.11.2018.tde-26102017-142451

How to Tell If a Plant Is Pollinated. (2012). Retrieved September 27, 2019, from Sfgate.com website: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/tell-plant-pollinated-34828.html

Kalayanasundaram, K. (2014). PRODUCTION POTENTIAL OF ANNATTO (BIXA ORELLANA L.) AS A SOURCE OF NATURAL EDIBLE DYE. In Research Gate. Retrieved from Department of Tree BreedingForest College & Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University website: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293695379_PRODUCTION_POTENTIAL_OF_ANNATTO_BIXA_ORELLANA_L_AS_A_SOURCE_OF_NATURAL_EDIBLE_DYE

Schutte, A. L., & Wyk, V. (1998). Evolutionary relationships in the Podalyrieae and Liparieae (Fabaceae) based on morphological, cytological, and chemical evidence. Plant Systematics and Evolution, 209(1/2), 1–31. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/23643263?seq=11#metadata_info_tab_contents

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