Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2025)

Morphological diversity and genetic potential of Aloe barbadensis Mill. accessions from diverse agro-climatic regions of Tamil Nadu, India

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.6119
Submitted
24 October 2024
Published
29-01-2025 — Updated on 30-01-2025
Versions

Abstract

Aloe barbadensis Mill. is a medicinal plant of great importance, widely cultivated for its therapeutic properties. However, limited research has been conducted on the morphological diversity of Aloe vera germplasm in India. This study assessed the morphological diversity of 40 A. vera accessions collected from different agro-climatic regions in Tamil Nadu, India. Eight quantitative morphological descriptors were evaluated. Significant variations were observed for all the studied traits, indicating substantial morphological diversity among the accessions. Principal component analysis revealed that the first three principal components (PC’s) accounted for 72.90% of the total variation. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions into three main clusters based on morphological similarity. Associations were found between several traits, with correlation analysis showing significant positive correlations between plant size, leaf dimensions and yield-related traits. High broad-sense heritability estimates were observed for several characteristics, suggesting the potential for genetic improvement through selection. The findings highlight the morphological diversity in Tamil Nadu A. vera germplasm, which can be exploited for the genetic improvement and development of effective conservation strategies for this valuable medicinal plant. The morphological diversity observed in this study can be attributed to the diverse agro-climatic conditions and geographical locations from which the accessions were collected.

References

  1. Surjushe A, Vasani R, Saple D. Aloe vera: a short review. Indian J Dermatol. 2008. 1;53(4):163-6. https://dx.doi.org/10.4103%2F0019-5154.44785
  2. Eshun K, He Q. Aloe vera: a valuable ingredient for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries—a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2004. 1;44(2):91-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408690490424694
  3. Nayanakantha NM, Singh BR, Gupta AK. Assessment of genetic diversity in Aloe germplasm accessions from India using RAPD and morphological markers. Cey J Sci (Bio. Sci.). 2010. 39 (1): 1-9. https://doi.org/10.4038/cjsbs.v39i1.2315
  4. Govindaraj M, Vetriventhan M, Srinivasan M. Importance of genetic diversity assessment in crop plants and its recent advances: an overview of its analytical perspectives. Genet Res Int. 2015. 2015(1):431487. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/431487
  5. IPGRI. Descriptors for Aloe (Aloe spp.). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute. 2001.
  6. Medrano M, Herrera CM. Geographical structuring of genetic diversity across the whole distribution range of Narcissus longispathus, a habitat-specialist, Mediterranean narrow endemic. Ann Bot. 2008. 1;102(2):183-94. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcn086
  7. Hill WG, Mulder HA. Genetic analysis of environmental variation. Genet Res. 2010. 92(5-6):381-95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016672310000546
  8. Nejatzadeh-Barandozi F, Naghavi MR, Enferadi ST, Mousavi A, Mostofi Y, Hassani ME. Genetic diversity of accessions of Iranian Aloe vera based on horticultural traits and RAPD markers. Ind Crop Prod. 2012. 1;37(1):347-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2011.12.013
  9. Team RC. RA language and environment for statistical computing, R Foundation for Statistical. Computing. 2020.
  10. Kumar R, Salar RK, Naik PK, Yadav M, Kumar A, Kumar A, et al. Elucidation of genetic diversity and population structure of sixty genotypes of Aloe vera using AFLP markers. S Afr J Bot. 2022. 1;147:1146-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.06.008
  11. Lagunes-Domínguez A, Pérez-Vázquez A, Hernández-Salinas G, Acosta-Osorio AA, Castillo-Zamudio RI. Agro-morphological characterization in Aloe vera genotypes in two states of Mexico. Rev Mexicana Scienc agric. 2024;15(3). https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v15i3.3659
  12. Kumar S, Yadav M, Yadav A, Yadav JP. Molecular assessment of genetic diversity in Indian accessions of Aloe vera using SSR marker. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2015;7(12):149-54.
  13. Sharma P, Kharkwal AC, Kharkwal H, Abdin MZ, Varma A. A review on pharmacological properties of Aloe vera. Int J Pharm Sci Rev Res. 2014. 29(2):31-7.
  14. Kruger EL, Volin JC. Reexamining the empirical relation between plant growth and leaf photosynthesis. Funct Plant Biol. 2006. 2;33(5):421-9. https://doi.org/10.1071/FP05310
  15. Sánchez-Machado DI, López-Cervantes J, Sendón R, Sanches-Silva A. Aloe vera: Ancient knowledge with new frontiers. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2017.1; 61:94-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2016.12.005
  16. Oboh BO. Multivariate analysis of the diversity among some Nigerian accessions of Amaranthus hybridus. IJPBG. 2007. 1(2):89-94. https://doi.org/10.3923/ijpbg.2007.89.94
  17. Kumar R, Salar RK, Naik PK, Yadav M, Kumar A, Kumar A, et al. Elucidation of genetic diversity and population structure of sixty genotypes of Aloe vera using AFLP markers. S Afr J Bot. 2022. 1;147: 1146-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.06.008
  18. Kumar S, Yadav A, Yadav M, Yadav JP. Effect of climate change on phytochemical diversity, total phenolic content and in vitro antioxidant activity of Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. BMC Res Notes. 2017.10:1-2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-017-2385-3
  19. Venugopal S, Padma M, Raj Kumar M, Seenivasan N, Saidaiah P, Sathish G. Genetic variability studies in ashwagandha (Withania somnifera L.) for yield and quality traits. Pharm Innov. J. 2021. 10:188-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2022.115696
  20. Ghrab M, Zribi F, Mimoun MB, Rhouma A. Morphological investigation of genetic diversity of pistachio (Pistacia vera) germplasm in arid land of Tunisia. Plant Ecol Evol. 2012. 1;145(3):363-72. https://doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2012.614
  21. Tripathi N, Saini N, Tiwari S. Assessment of genetic diversity among Aloe vera accessions using amplified fragment length polymorphism. Int J Med Arom Plants. 2011. 1:115-21.
  22. Khadivi-Khub A, Etemadi-Khah A. Phenotypic diversity and relationships between morphological traits in selected almond (Prunus amygdalus) germplasm. Agrofor Syst. 2015. 89:205-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-014-9754-x
  23. Bisht Y, Sharma H, Jugran AK, Singh AV, Mishra PK, Pareek N. Assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of Indian common bean accessions using microsatellite markers. Plant Genetic Resources. 2023. 21(2):182-93. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1479262123000606
  24. Arteaga S, Yabor L, Torres J, Solbes E, Muñoz E, Díez MJ, et al. Morphological and agronomic characterization of Spanish landraces of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Agriculture. 2019. 9;9(7):149. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture9070149
  25. Eckert CG, Samis KE, Lougheed SC. Genetic variation across species’ geographical ranges: the central–marginal hypothesis and beyond. Mol Ecol. 2008. 17(5):1170-88. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03659.x
  26. Mamo T, Asheesh S, Mahama AA. Participatory plant breeding and participatory variety selection [Chapter 7]. In: Suza, W.P. (et al. (eds.) Crop Improvement. Ames, Iowa (USA): Iowa State University Digital Press.2023.161- 71.
  27. Nyine M, Uwimana B, Swennen R, Batte M, Brown A, Christelová P, et al. Trait variation and genetic diversity in a banana genomic selection training population. PLoS One. 2017. 6;12(6): e0178734. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178734
  28. Saljooghianpour M. Genetic diversity in different accessions of Aloe sp. using Morphological and AFLP markers. Indian J Agric Sci. 2013. 1;83(12).
  29. Alatalo RV, Gustafsson L, Lundberg A. Phenotypic selection on heritable size traits: environmental variance and genetic response. Am Nat. 1990. 1;135(3):464-71. https://doi.org/10.1086/285056
  30. Resende MD, Resende Jr MF, Sansaloni CP, Petroli CD, Missiaggia AA, Aguiar AM, et al. Genomic selection for growth and wood quality in Eucalyptus: capturing the missing heritability and accelerating breeding for complex traits in forest trees. New Phytol. 2012. 194(1):116-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.04038.x
  31. Foulkes MJ, Snape JW, Shearman VJ, Reynolds MP, Gaju O, Sylvester-Bradley R. Genetic progress in yield potential in wheat: recent advances and future prospects. J Agric Sci. 2007. 1;145(1):17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859607006740

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.