Variability and divergence in Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre germplasm – a candidate tree for biodiesel

Abstract

Three explorations were undertaken in South East Coastal zone of India covering parts of Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Orissa states to collect Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre germplasm during March-June 2007. A total of 123 accessions were collected and seed data recorded were analyzed for morphometric traits viz., seed length, seed width, seed thickness, 100-seed weight and oil content. Variation in the collected germplasm was analyzed using ANOVA, simple measures of variation and D 2 statistics. Significant genetic variability between seed traits and oil content and association among the seed traits was recorded. Phenotypic variance was higher than genotypic variance for all the characters indicating dominant role of environment. High heritability (broad sense) for 100-seed weight (97.6%) and oil content (86.7%) indicated the reliability of these characters as selection criteria for plus trees. Genetic gain was maximum for 100-seed weight (62.6%) followed by oil content (30.5%). D 2 analysis grouped the accessions into 12 clusters. Cluster XII and cluster IX were the most diverse based on the intercluster distance. Based on the observed diversity, Chittoor, Srikakulam and Adilabad districts of AP are most suitable for collecting diverse germplasm lines and also for in situ conservation.

Variability for seed oil content and seedling traits in Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre

“…Height of the first branch ranged from 5.17 in progeny number 22 to 11.08 cm in progeny number 9. Seed oil content variation is more widely reported not only in annual crops but also in a wide variety of trees borne oil seed (Divakara et al, 2010;Sunil et al, 2010). These findings are in agreement with Kaushik et al, 2007and Mukta et al, 2009.…”

De novo sequencing and characterization of seed transcriptome of the tree legume Millettia pinnata for gene discovery and SSR marker development

“…The early efforts on selection of Pongamia germplasm primarily relied on the assessment of phenotypic traits, such as plant height, size and weight of pods and seeds, as well as oil content and composition (Kaushik et al 2007;Kesari et al 2008;Mukta et al 2009;Sunil et al 2009;Rao et al 2011;Sahoo et al 2011). While some of these phenotypic traits have been demonstrated to be with high broadsense heritability in Pongamia and thus reliable for germplasm selection (Kaushik et al 2007;Sunil et al 2009;Rao et al 2011), they are easily affected by environmental factors and are only assayable when the trees are mature.…”

“…While some of these phenotypic traits have been demonstrated to be with high broadsense heritability in Pongamia and thus reliable for germplasm selection (Kaushik et al 2007;Sunil et al 2009;Rao et al 2011), they are easily affected by environmental factors and are only assayable when the trees are mature. Molecular markers, on the other hand, can provide more informative and reproducible data for germplasm selection at a juvenile stage, and they can also aid in evaluating genetic diversity of extant populations and planning conservation actions for the long-term variability of a plant species.…”

Genome sequencing and analysis uncover the regulatory elements involved in the development and oil biosynthesis of Pongamia pinnata (L.) – A potential biodiesel feedstock

“…Pongamia pinnata L. belongs to the Fabaceae family of the Rosids clade and can grow in a variety of agro-climatic regions, making it a potential source of non-edible feedstock for biodiesel production ( Scott et al, 2008 ). To meet the future demands of biofuel, it is critical to identify the elite varieties and establish large-scale plantations of pongamia by extensive selection and propagation ( Sunil et al, 2009 ; Kesari et al, 2010b ; Sahoo et al, 2010 ; Kazakoff et al, 2012 ). In this study, we report phenotypic characteristics and carbon sequestration potential of five elite pongamia accessions and highlight the bioenergy and biofuel properties of pongamia.…”