Beta maritima: The Origin of Beets

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Alternatively, you can download the file locally and open with any standalone PDF reader: The Origin of Beets 0 P. The wild beets have always been harvested both for food and as a medicinal herb.

Due to the latter use, references are frequently in old or obscure books and difficult to find and cite. The wild species gave rise to different cultivated offspring employed firstly as vegetable, later as fodder.

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At the end of s, the most important purpose was found, i. The book was written by leading specialists in the crop and collects and summarizes numerous references published on B.

Particularly useful are chapters one, which describes the story of the wild species, and four on taxonomy. Chapter 1 includes biographies, results, and collaborations among internationally known scientists and breeders who were pivotal in sea beet research and collection, and who isolated and improved cultivated germplasm with genetic traits extracted from the wild plant.

Chapter 6 describes the traits transferred to sugar beet, mainly genetic resistance against pests and diseases. The crop wild species crosses easily with cultivated beets. This facilitates the transmission of genetic traits seemingly lost during domestication and crop improvement. For Permissions, please email: Email alerts New issue alert. Receive exclusive offers and updates from Oxford Academic.

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Despite the severity of the imposed stresses, all plants from all genotypes were able to recover. Taking into consideration Figures 1 and 2E , two sub-groups can be devised: The effects of drought and salinity on biomass production lead to the working hypothesis that the three wild beets regulate differently carbon assimilation and water consumption under stress.

The rate of water depletion from the soil was monitored daily, the water loss from the soil being gradual and slow Supplementary Figure S1A. VMT, which was found to be less demanding, exhibited a different strategy under stress, spending water faster than the other genotypes. On the other hand, the genotypes more demanding in terms of water needs CMP and SB exhibited an intermediate consumption under stress, while OEI genotype demonstrated the better control of water spending.

Principal component analysis followed by between groups analysis BGA was performed in order to get a global view of the drought effects on the physiology of the beet plants. It was possible to observe that the discrimination along the first, second, and third axis was driven by stress levels and intensities, not by genotypes data not shown.

Beta vulgaris maritima Sea Beet PFAF Plant Database

In order to analyze specific responses at a similar drought intensity, early stress, severe stress and recovery were considered separately. This strategy allowed to verify that the physiological responses to drought from the different beets were distinct Figure 3. The physiological responses of the beets to severe drought Figures 3B,E showed also genotypic specific responses although with a distinct pattern.

Taken together, our data have identified OA and water consumption as relevant parameters for VMT discrimination from the other genotypes under drought. Four biological replicas were considered per genotype and stress level raw data available as Supplementary Table S1. The physiological performance under two distinct levels of salinity watering with mM NaCl and mM NaCl was monitored. Similarly to what was observed for drought experiments, PCA followed by BGA revealed that discrimination along the first, second, and third axis was driven by stress levels and intensities, not by genotypes data not shown.

A more detailed PCA and BGA analysis was performed by considering separately the two salinity treatments Figures 4 and 5 and each stress level individually. At this stage stomata conductance and photosynthetic activity were not strong contributors for genotype discrimination. A distinct pattern was observed when analyzing the physiological responses to an early stress induced by mM NaCl Figure 5A.

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The variance along the first axis was due to the responses in pot evapotransporation, Tleaf and OA. Comparing the two salinity treatments it was observed that: Under recovery, the parameters OA and pot evapotranspiration strongly contributed to the separation of VMT from the other genotypes.

In this work, we present the first molecular and biochemical characterization of Portuguese wild beets through the comparison of four populations, two wild sea beets OEI and CMP , one inland ruderal beet VMT and one sugar beet cultivar SB. Our study indicates that the SSRs we have used allowed to define the genetic structure of the beet populations. It is interesting that a recent work Abbasi et al. The high level of allelic diversity in the wild populations is most probably due to their mating system, since beets are wind-pollinated plants Bartsch et al.

It has been suggested that ruderal beets originated from cultivar seed escape Arnaud et al.

This hypothesis is supported by Saccomani et al. However, and by contrast, the Portuguese wild beet populations are closer to each other than to sugar beet, what does not support the hypothesis of seed escape for the VMT origin. Furthermore, the Portuguese VMT beet cannot be viewed as a feral form since there has not been sugar beet cultivation nearby.

Since OEI and CMP cluster together and are both sea beets from the Atlantic coast, we may consider that an identical process occurred between them. Biomass accumulation in organs of marketable value is of great importance due to its implications with agricultural performance. Regarding sugar beet, dry matter accumulation in the root is of crucial significance and can even control photosynthetic efficiency Humphries and French, This crop is usually grown with adequate levels of water and mineral nutrients, but it has been observed that stress, in particular drought, greatly affects dry matter accumulation in the root Choluj et al.

Physical Characteristics

Our data show that CMP shoot to root ratio under control conditions is smaller than the shoot to root ratio of SB and of the other wild beets. The observed differences support the use of VMT for leaf producing beets and CMP for root producing beets as the differences reflect genetic distinctiveness. These trends are also detected when the genotypes are submitted to prolonged drought and salinity, the genotypes displaying distinct physiological responses to stress. Our data show that VMT outgroups from the others.

In sharp contrast with the remaining beets studied, VMT invested in both shoot and root production under drought the investment in root biomass being higher than in shoot biomass. Under salinity, VMT exhibits the largest shoot to root ratio while keeping total biomass production, confirming that this genotype can be a useful source of genes. The ecological and functional significance of different root strategies needs to be determined but it is considered as a mechanism of adaptation to the soil and climatic resources Saccomani et al.

Considering our study, Tleaf and the temperature related Vpdl and internal CO 2 concentration typically discriminate genotypes. These parameters reflect differences in temperature control, higher Tleaf resulting from stomata closure and therefore reduced availability of CO 2 at cellular level. Our data relates well with those of Ober et al. This could be related with the absence of a direct relationship between stomata closure and photosynthetic rate. Several authors working with sugar beet under drought or salinity have shown that photosynthetic activity decreases even if internal CO 2 concentration remains relatively constant Delfine et al.

According to Monti et al. Therefore, Tleaf regulation has a strong impact on CO 2 assimilation. VMT shows the least increase in Tleaf, which is accompanied by a distinct strategy in leaf osmotic adjustment and water potential at predawn, and controls intracellular water in a distinct way to CMP and OEI. CMP is the genotype performing higher osmotic adjustments.

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However, in terms of biomass production it is not the best performer, which allows to postulate that osmotic adjustment is not the most predominant feature for stable biomass production under stress. Our data point out Tleaf as a useful parameter for germplasm screening. Tleaf regulation can reflect the adaptations to the environment and the geographical distribution of the Portuguese wild beets. These populations are originated from different environments, facing distinct temperature ranges and precipitation Table 1.

These authors describe a genetic diversification from South-East to North-West within sea beet accessions. VMT an inland genotype copes well with drought and salinity outstanding the sea beet CMP, which is an ecotype that grows in marshland. CMP for root production under favorable conditions or when irrigation is an option; VMT for the genetic screening of abiotic stress resilience and biomass production under stress. To fully exploit their potential CMP and VMT should be evaluated under field conditions and in relation to the ideotype.

Considering the market value of sugar beet, the ideotype should have a high root biomass and be able to attract a high proportion of assimilated carbohydrate in order to increase sugar yield. These two traits require alterations in partitioning and larger root cells. Smaller sugar beet roots are due to small cell size, not smaller cell number Connor et al. Root anatomical characteristics influence sugar yield, the ability to compete for photoassimilate being related with the number of vascular rings in the root Maiti et al.

The selection of a sugar beet ideotype aims improving nutrient capturing capacity Saccomani et al. This characteristic was found to be significantly associated with sugar beet yield Biscarini et al. The Portuguese wild beets from different habitats activate distinct features when submitted to abiotic stress, what must be related to their genetic structure. Our data highlight VMT as a particularly interesting genotype for breeding programs as it is the less stress affected genotype. Drought is a major constraint for sugar beet production and VMT shows a stable biomass production under drought.

Beta maritima: The Origin of Beets

Although under non-limiting conditions it invests in leaves, under drought it invests in root biomass. The ecotype that invest more in roots under non-limiting conditions is CMP, what is a desirable trend for sugar beet crops. The Portuguese wild beets can thus be considered relevant genetic reservoirs for sugar beet improvement, and the evaluation of field performance are the next steps that should be undertaken. A comparative study with other wild beets is needed in order to identify the molecular traits of interest when considering the selection of sugar beet ideotype.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Lothar Frese for his constructive discussions and suggestions. We also acknowledge Dr. The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: Association of SSR markers and morpho-physiological traits associated with salinity tolerance in sugar beet Beta vulgaris L.

Taxonomic, spatial and adaptive genetic variation of Beta section Beta. Fine-scale geographical structure of genetic diversity in inland wild beet populations. Microelements in culture-solution experiments with higher plants.

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