Abstract Detail

Horticulture

Alam, Zobayer [1], Morales, Hugo [2], Debnath, Samir C. [3], Pena-Castillo, Lourdes [4], Roncal, Julissa [5].

Influence of environmental conditions on the biochemistry of wild partridgeberry populations in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Partridgeberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) is a poorly known wild fruit that grows in North America and Eurasia. One of the most important economic features of partridgeberry is its antioxidant capacity attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds, which have many proven health benefits. In Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) has the best prospect to develop a partridgeberry industry because it is the highest producer of wild partridgeberry fruits. Research on partridgeberry’s phenolic compound content and genetic diversity has been conducted only in scattered localities of Europe and North America. In addition, there is scarce research on the environmental factors that influence the phenolic content in partridgeberry. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of climatic and habitat conditions on the chemical value of wild partridgeberry populations in NL. Total Phenolic Content (TPC) in fruits and leaves of 56 populations was investigated using the Folin Ciocalten assay, and their antioxidant capacity was measured using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. Results showed that TPC in fruits was highest in the north shore forest ecoregion, and in areas with total annual precipitation of more than 1,300 millimeters per year. TPC in leaves was not significantly different under any of the environmental factors tested. Leaf antioxidant activity, however, was highest in the central Newfoundland forest. Areas with mean annual temperature of 1-1.9°C and non-coastal also presented high leaf antioxidant capacity. We are conducting additional studies using the genotyping-by-sequencing method to reveal the correlation between these traits and population genetic distance, and to elucidate the variation in phenolic biosynthesis genes among populations.

1 - Memorial University of Newfoundland, Biology, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
2 - Memorial University of Newfoundland, Biology, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
3 - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Atlantic Cool Climate Crop Research Centre, 308 Brookfield Road, Bldg 25, St. John's, NL, A1E 0B2, Canada
4 - Memorial University of Newfoundland, Biology and Computer Science, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
5 - Memorial University of Newfoundland, Biology, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9

Keywords:
antioxidant activity
total phenolic content
precipitation
coastal
temperature
ecoregion
Newfoundland and Labrador.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Hall D/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PHO003
Abstract ID:587
Candidate for Awards:2015 Graduate Student Best Poster Presentation Award,2015 Macoun-Hill Graduate Student Travel Award