Climatic Diversity and Ecological Descriptors of Wild Tomato Species (Solanum sect. Lycopersicon) and Close Related Species (Solanum sect. Juglandifolia y sect. Lycopersicoides) in Latin America

Abstract

Conservation and sustainable use of species diversity require a description of the environment where they develop. The objectives were to determine ecological descriptors and climatic diversity of areas along the distribution range of 12 species of wild tomatoes (Solanum sect. Lycopersicon) and four wild species of phylogenetically related groups (Solanum sect. Juglandifolia and sect. Lycopersicoides), as well as their ecological similarity in Latin America. With 4228 selected tomato accessions and an environmental information system (EIS) composed of 21 climatic variables, diversity patterns of the distribution areas were identified for each species, as well as ecological descriptors through the use of geographic information systems (GIS). The contribution of climatic variables to the species geographical distribution was identified by principal component analysis (PCA), and similarity in species distribution as a function of the variables identified with cluster analysis (CA). Climatic characteristics and the environmental amplitude of wild tomatoes and related species along their distributional range were satisfactorily determined by ecological descriptors. Eleven climate types were identified, predominantly BSk (arid, steppe, cold), BWh (arid, desert, hot), and Cfb (temperate, no dry season, warm summer). PCA determined 10 most important variables were the most important for the geographical distribution. Six groups of species were identified according to CA and climatic distribution similarity. This approach has shown promissory applications for biodiversity conservation of valuable genetic resources for tomato crop breeding.

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“…Ecological descriptors obtained, despite the incorporation of new accessions, are very similar to the ranges reported by Peralta et al (2008) and Ramírez-Ojeda et al (2021a) and generally identify the groups of species proposed in the classification. It is important to mention that this methodology has been widely used in the study of other species (Ruiz-Corral et al, 2008;Cerda-Hurtado et al, 2018;Sánchez-González et al, 2018;Ramírez-Ojeda et al, 2021a;2021b).…”

“…Ecological descriptors obtained, despite the incorporation of new accessions, are very similar to the ranges reported by Peralta et al (2008) and Ramírez-Ojeda et al (2021a) and generally identify the groups of species proposed in the classification. It is important to mention that this methodology has been widely used in the study of other species (Ruiz-Corral et al, 2008;Cerda-Hurtado et al, 2018;Sánchez-González et al, 2018;Ramírez-Ojeda et al, 2021a;2021b). With this information, it is also possible to identify those species with tolerance to extreme conditions, for example, low and high temperatures, humidity conditions, altitude, pH, BD, and all the possible conditions when associating a species with a climate type or soil unit (Table 3 and Table 4, Tables A1, A2, and A3 in Supplementary Material).…”

“…One way to identify the adaptive ranges and most relevant variables that determine species distribution of valuable genetic resources is through ecogeographic studies, focusing on collection, conservation, characterization, documentation, and use of these resources (Parra-Quinajo et al, 2012;Pease et al, 2016), with the purpose of describing and explaining spatial patterns and processes involved in biodiversity distribution through time and space (Martiny et al, 2006;Tofalo et al, 2013;Délices et al, 2019). Ecogeographic studies of plant genetic resources allow the identification of the adaptive ranges of the species and the most relevant environmental variables that define their distribution (Parra-Quinajo et al, 2012;Ramírez-Ojeda et al, 2021a). Through ecogeographic studies, it is also possible to predict the environmental characteristics of the accession sites (Steiner and Greene, 1996) from ecological descriptors obtained through GIS tools using the geographical location and environmental variables (Lobo-Burle et al, 2013;Sánchez-González et al, 2018;Ramírez-Ojeda et al, 2021a, 2021b.…”

“…Ecogeographic studies of plant genetic resources allow the identification of the adaptive ranges of the species and the most relevant environmental variables that define their distribution (Parra-Quinajo et al, 2012;Ramírez-Ojeda et al, 2021a). Through ecogeographic studies, it is also possible to predict the environmental characteristics of the accession sites (Steiner and Greene, 1996) from ecological descriptors obtained through GIS tools using the geographical location and environmental variables (Lobo-Burle et al, 2013;Sánchez-González et al, 2018;Ramírez-Ojeda et al, 2021a, 2021b.…”

Edaphoclimatic Descriptors of Wild Tomato Species (Solanum Sect. Lycopersicon) and Closely Related Species (Solanum Sect. Juglandifolia and Sect. Lycopersicoides) in South America

“…In this sense, tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most cultivated vegetables due to its wide distribution and environmental adaptation in warm, subtropical, and tropical regions with nutritional and commercial importance worldwide ( Peralta et al, 2008 ; Ramírez-Ojeda et al, 2021a ). Regarding the place of origin and diversification of tomato, Peru is considered the center of origin with two transitions that involve tomato diversification process; the first one in South America, from wild species S. pimpinellifolium L. to a partially domesticated species S. lycopersicum L. var.…”