Genetic, phytochemical and biochemical analyses as tools for biodiversity evaluation of wild accessions of Solanum commersonii

Genetic fingerprint profiles, the type and content of glycoalkaloids (GAs) and hemagglutination (HAG) activity against red cells were analysed in accessions of Solanum commersonii, collected from different locations in the south of Uruguay. Thirty-nine accessions from 21 geographically distinct areas were studied. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis revealed a high degree of genetic diversity among the accessions used in the study and effectively discriminated among all of the accessions analysed. There was a very high diversity in the type as well as the concentration of GAs in the samples. Strong HAG activity against rabbit red cells was detected in all the S. commersonii tuber extracts analysed. Such activity was specifically inhibited by N,N′-diacetylchitobiose and N,N′,N″-triacetylchitotriose. Differences in the levels of specific HAG activities were found in the different extracts, which might indicate different levels of the lectin specific for N-acetylglucosamine (Glc-NAc) and its oligomers, in the tubers. It is shown that the three different approaches used in this work successfully discriminate between the accessions of this species and thus, they constitute interesting tools to analyse biodiversity within one species. In addition, they allow selection of those accessions with potential to be used in crop programs.