Sampling strategy for a core collection of Peruvian quinoa germplasm

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Genetics
• Germplasm Conservation

Background:

• Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a vital Andean crop with potential for temperate agriculture.
• Developing new quinoa cultivars requires access to diverse genetic resources held in gene banks.
• A core collection streamlines management and boosts the utilization of quinoa genetic resources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a core subset of the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano (UNAP) quinoa gene bank.
• To capture the majority of genetic variability present in the Peruvian quinoa germplasm.
• To ensure the core collection reflects the phenotypic diversity and correlations of the entire collection.

Main Methods:

• A geographically stratified, non-overlapping sampling procedure was employed.
• Accession numbers for the core subset were determined proportionally, adjusted by crop acreage per geographical cluster.
• Multivariate analysis, including principal component analysis, was used to define morphological variation within clusters.

Main Results:

• A core collection of 103 accessions was established from a total of 1029 accessions.
• The sampling strategy successfully captured the phenotypic diversity of the Peruvian quinoa germplasm.
• Key phenotypic correlations between quantitative traits were preserved in the core collection.

Conclusions:

• The developed core collection effectively represents the genetic variability of Peruvian quinoa.
• This core collection serves as an accessible entry point for exploiting quinoa genetic resources.
• Future comprehensive collections should incorporate germplasm from neighboring countries and wild relatives.