ABSTRACT
Garlic (Allium sativum) is an important cash food crop, and the biotechnology industry has considerable interest in the plant because of its medicinal importance. These medicinal properties are attributed to organosulphur compounds as the accumulation of these compounds varies according to genotype, locality, light quality, and cultivation practices. In this study, we compared a newly developed garlic variety NARC-G1 by National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan with three different garlic cultivars and highlighted the distinctive attributes like phenotypic characteristics, the content of allicin, elemental profile, and gene polymorphism. Phenotypic analysis showed NARC-G1 has significantly higher bulb weight (66.36g ± 18.58), single clove weight (5.87g ± 1.041), and clove width (17.41mm ± 0.95) which directly correlates to the size of the garlic. The analytical analysis showed the highest allicin content (4.82 ± 0.001) in NARC-G1. Genotyping of the alliinase in all four cultivars showed indels in the gene resulting in distinguishable changes in organosulphur compounds' profile. NARC-G1 is unique from other garlic cultivars and could be the best choice for mass production with proper cultivation and irrigation management. Moreover, for Pakistan NARC-G1 could be a potential contender to earn the industrial benefits with inland cultivation instead of importing garlic alleviating the economic burden.
O alho (Allium sativum) é uma importante cultura alimentar de rendimento e a indústria biotecnológica tem um interesse considerável na planta devido à sua importância medicinal. As propriedades medicinais são atribuídas aos compostos organossulfurados, enquanto o acúmulo de sulfóxidos de cisteína (CSOs) varia de acordo com genótipo, localidade, qualidade da luz e práticas de cultivo. Neste estudo, comparamos uma variedade de alho recém-desenvolvida NARC-G1 pelo Centro Nacional de Pesquisa Agropecuária (NARC), Islamabade, Paquistão, com três diferentes cultivares de alho, e destacamos os atributos distintivos, como características fenotípicas, conteúdo de alicina, perfil elementar e gene polimorfismo. A análise fenotípica mostrou que o NARC-G1 tem peso de bulbo significativamente maior (66.36g ± 18.58), peso de um único dente (5.87g ± 1.041) e largura do dente (17.41mm ± 0.95), o que se correlaciona diretamente com o tamanho do alho. A análise analítica indicou maior teor de alicina (4.82 ± 0.001) no NARC-G1. A genotipagem do gene da aliinase em todas as quatro cultivares mostrou indels no gene, resultando em mudanças distinguíveis no perfil das CSOs. O NARC-G1 é único em relação a outras cultivares de alho e pode ser a melhor escolha para produção em massa com cultivo adequado e manejo de irrigação. Além disso, para o Paquistão, o NARC-G1 pode ser um potencial candidato para obter os benefícios industriais com o cultivo no interior, em vez de importar alho, aliviando o ônus econômico.
Subject(s)
Pakistan , Plants, Medicinal , Genetic Enhancement , Garlic , GenotypeABSTRACT
Garlic (Allium sativum) is an important cash food crop, and the biotechnology industry has considerable interest in the plant because of its medicinal importance. These medicinal properties are attributed to organosulphur compounds as the accumulation of these compounds varies according to genotype, locality, light quality, and cultivation practices. In this study, we compared a newly developed garlic variety NARC-G1 by National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan with three different garlic cultivars and highlighted the distinctive attributes like phenotypic characteristics, the content of allicin, elemental profile, and gene polymorphism. Phenotypic analysis showed NARC-G1 has significantly higher bulb weight (66.36g ± 18.58), single clove weight (5.87g ± 1.041), and clove width (17.41mm ± 0.95) which directly correlates to the size of the garlic. The analytical analysis showed the highest allicin content (4.82 ± 0.001) in NARC-G1. Genotyping of the alliinase in all four cultivars showed indels in the gene resulting in distinguishable changes in organosulphur compounds' profile. NARC-G1 is unique from other garlic cultivars and could be the best choice for mass production with proper cultivation and irrigation management. Moreover, for Pakistan NARC-G1 could be a potential contender to earn the industrial benefits with inland cultivation instead of importing garlic alleviating the economic burden.