Genetic Diversity of Macaw Palm (Acrocomia aculeata) by Microsatellite Markers

The macaw-palm is the palm most widely distributed of the American continent and Brazil is the country where it occurs most. Currently, it is considered by many the best important Brazilian palm for biodiesel or biokerosene production, although has not yet cultivars for commercial planting. Several agronomic traits have important genetic diversity. The oil extracted from the pulp of its fruit, the maximum yield found in the state of São Paulo was 65%, and linoleic acid is what occurs in greater proportion, reaching 74% of the oil composition in some genotypes. The endosperm provides less variation in oil content (average 53%) and is rich in lauric acid. Thus, due to the great economic potential of this species, with environmental, economic and social benefits, this study aimed to develop libraries enriched loci SSRs, characterize loci and apply microsatellite markers to investigate diversity of 20 populations of macaw palm occurring spontaneously in different localities of the state of São Paulo. The results showed that there was success in the development of library microsatellite loci, we found 40 alleles at eight loci (average of five alleles per locus), there is a high diversity between populations and it is higher within than among populations, the species has mixed mating behavior, which is greater genetic diversity among populations than among regions, suggesting an involvement of metapopulation structure, indicating that the populations studied underwent genetic drift due to anthropization and have restricted gene flow. These results should be considered for conservation and pre-breeding of macaw palm.