Study of the genes alliinase and chitinase in materials of costarican garlic (Allium sativum L) ; Estudio de los genes allinasa y quitinasa en el ajo costarricense (Allium sativum L.)

Garlic production in Costa Rica has been affected by the quality and quantity of the harvested seeds. Bulb production has also been deteriorated by diseases. However, this crop is preferred for its flavor, considered superior to the one imported from China. Pungency of garlic is partially due to the action of the alliinase enzyme. Furthermore, the resistance to certain pathogenic fungi is influenced by the chitinase enzyme activity. The encoding genes for both enzymes were analyzed in this study, by using in vitro plantlets obtained from local materials from Llano Grande, Santa Ana, Miramar and San Ramon zones and garlic imported from China. By using these genes, DNA sequences were compared and studied in order to find differences that allow the characterization of various materials. The results showed the presence of different alliinase gene copies. The chitinase gene presented a highly conserved sequence in all materials tested. Two highly conserved introns were found in the Costa Rican germplasm and the Asian reference material. It was concluded that Costa Rican garlic is very similar to the Asian. Also, the first report of the existence of introns in the chitinase of garlic is presented here. ; El cultivo del ajo en Costa Rica se ha visto afectado por la calidad y cantidad de semillas almacenadas. La producción de los bulbos también se ve deteriorada por las enfermedades. Sin embargo, este cultivo es apetecido por su sabor, considerado superior al del ajo importado de China. La pungencia del ajo está dada en parte por la acción de la enzima allinasa. Además, la resistencia a ciertos hongos patógenos está influenciada por la actividad de la enzima quitinasa. En el presente estudio se analizaron los genes que codifican para ambas enzimas, utilizando plántulas in vitro obtenidas a partir de materiales de las zonas de Llano Grande, Santa Ana, Miramar, San Ramón y de ajo importado de China. Se compararon y estudiaron las secuencias de ADN utilizando estos genes, con el fin de encontrar diferencias que permitieran ...