Genetic Structure of Natural Populations of Elionurus muticus and Citogenetic Characterization

The world market for essential oil is increasing about 11% per year, where Brazil is among the 15 largest exporters, accounting for 1% of world exports. One of the essential oil compounds most commercialized is the citral, which has a strong citrus odor and is used in perfumery, food and cosmetics industries. Elionurus muticus is a native grass of the Pampa biome and has been highlighted by the production of an essential oil rich in citral. However, few studies have been done on this species. The aims of this study were to analyze the genetic structure of natural populations of E. muticus and characterize citegenetically the species. Collected populations were cultivated in pots and maintained outdoors. Leaf, stem, and flower samples for all analyzes were obtained from these plants. Genetic characterization used AFLP markers and cytogenetics assessed mitosis, meiosis and pollen. The results showed that the studied populations have genetic variability for several traits, indicating the possibility of plant selection. The variability is mostly present into the populations. The high varibility also suggests the occurrence of allogamy in natural populations. Through cytogenetic analysis it was concluded that the species meiosis is regular and that the chromosome number is 2n = 20. It was possible to design the karyotype of E. muticus, which revealed the presence of a satellite chromosome.