Wild Relatives of the Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.: Solanaceae): New Understanding of Species Names in a Complex Group

Abstract

BackgroundThe common or brinjal eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) belongs to the Leptostemonum Clade (the “spiny” solanums) of the species-rich genus Solanum (Solanaceae). Unlike most of the genus, the eggplant and its relatives are from the Old World; most eggplant wild relatives are from Africa. An informal system for naming eggplant wild relatives largely based on crossing and other biosystematics data has been in use for approximately a decade. This system recognises several forms of two broadly conceived species, S. incanum L. and S. melongena. Recent morphological and molecular work has shown that species-level differences exist between these entities, and a new species-level nomenclature has been identified as necessary for plant breeders and for the maintenance of accurately named germplasm.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe examined herbarium specimens from throughout the wild species ranges as part of a larger revision of the spiny solanums of Africa. Based on these morphological and molecular studies, we delimited species in the group to which the common eggplant belongs and constructed identification keys for the group. We also examined the monophyly of the group considered as the eggplant relatives by previous authors.Conclusions/SignificanceWe recognise ten species in this group: S. aureitomentosum Bitter, S. campylacanthum A.Rich., S. cerasiferum Dunal, S. incanum L., S. insanum L., S. lichtensteinii Willd., S. linnaeanum Hepper & P.-M.L.Jaeger, S. melongena L., S. rigidum Lam. and S. umtuma Voronts. & S.Knapp. We review the history of naming and provide keys and character lists for all species. Ploidy level differences have not been investigated in the eggplant wild relatives; we identify this as a priority for improvement of crop wild relative use in breeding. The application of species-level names to these entities will help focus new collecting efforts for brinjal eggplant improvement and help facilitate information exchange.

Inhibitory effects of methanolic extracts of two eggplant species from South-western Nigeria on starch hydrolysing enzymes linked to type-2 diabetes

“…Both of these species are domesticated and differ from their wild ancestors in that they underwent artificial selection for larger fruit with less bitter flavour (Knapp et al, 2013;Grubben and Denton, 2004). This present study sought to explore further and to compare the ability of these African eggplant varieties in vitro ability using different models of oxidative stress.…”

Nomenclatural novelties for the Euro+Med flora

“…D.A.Webb) and peach (P. persica (L.) Batsch), recently reported as casual alien to Italy (<http://www.floraitaliae.actaplantarum.org/viewtopic. php?t=43473&p=278405#p278405>, retrieved on 4 October 2017), after an exhaustive review of the available synonyms Rehder (1922) Lester & Niakan (1986), then confirmed by the following authors (e.g., Knapp et al, 2013;Plazas et al, 2014). About the descent of the crop S. macrocarpon from the wild S. dasyphyllum (Africa) the same is true as for the previous species (Knapp et al, 2013;Plazas et al, 2014).…”

Genomic Tools for the Enhancement of Vegetable Crops: A Case in Eggplant

“…According to the authors, a high-quality reference genome has been de novo assembled through Illumina sequencing (∼155X), using different genomic libraries sizes (from 270 bp to 10 Kb), of the inbred eggplant line "67/3", which was used as a male parent of a 157 F6 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) mapping Introduction Eggplant (Solanum melongena L., 2n = 2x = 24), also known as common eggplant or brinjal eggplant, belongs to the Leptostemonum clade within the Solanum genus (the "spiny" solanums) and is the second most important solanaceous fruit crop in total production after tomato (S. lycopersicum L.) (Knapp et al, 2013). Eggplant has undergone a constant increase in yield (2.7-fold) and total production (8.7-fold) in the last fifty years, although the largest increases have been recorded in the last decade (FAOSTAT, 2017).…”

“…One of them was scarlet eggplant (S. aethiopicum accession BBS135) (Gramazio et al, 2016a;SRA accession: SRR2229192), the second most important cultivated eggplant, which is common in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as, in some areas of Brazil, Caribbean and south of Italy (Sunseri et al, 2010). In the same study, a de novo whole transcriptome of Solanum incanum L. accession MM577 (SRA accession: SRR2289250), a wild relative of common eggplant which is considered a powerful source of phenolics and tolerant to some abiotic stresses such as drought (Knapp et al 2013), was also assembled.…”

“…In order to exploit the great genetic diversity of the wild relatives, a new interspecific map (named SMIBC) was developed using S. incanum MM577, which, as has been mentioned previously, is considered a powerful source of phenolics and tolerant to some abiotic stresses such as drought (Knapp et al, 2013). In fact, with the objective of increasing the content of chlorogenic acid (CGA) in eggplant, which is usually the main phenolic compound (Whitaker et al, 2003;Prohens et al, 2013), a first set of introgression lines in the eggplant gene pool has been developed using S. incanum as a donor parent (Gramazio et the genetic diversity, evolutionary history, domestication, and ecology in eggplant (Gramazio et al, 2016a).…”