Abstract Detail

Crops and Wild Relatives

Glos, Rosemary [1], Landis, Jacob [2], Royall, Margaret [3], Harrington, Sandra [4], McCouch, Susan [4], Specht, Chelsea [1], Styger, Erika [3].

Characterization of Saamakan Rice Diversity in Suriname.

Rice is a staple crop among the Saamaka Maroons of Suriname, a culturally, politically, and economically independent people from the upper Suriname River. Rice cultivation and consumption are intimately linked to Saamakan cultural identity and oral history dating back to the escape from slavery in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Traditional rice cultivation may be under threat from a variety of environmental and cultural factors, including land degradation, rising population, and loss of rice-growing knowledge. Previous anthropological and genetic studies have suggested that the Saamaka grow both cultivated forms of Asian (Oryza sativa) and African rice (O. glaberrima). However, little is known about the number of varieties, their genetic diversity, geographic origins, degree of introgression or range of phenotypic variation. We initiated a study to characterize the diversity present among cultivars of upland rice grown by the Saamaka. With the support and assistance of Saamaka leadership, we collected 108 unique accessions (approximately 50 separate named varieties) from six villages along the Suriname River and gathered a range of morphological data including gross plant morphology, panicle morphology, and seed morphology. Biological replicates of all accessions collected in the field were grown in the Cornell greenhouse for additional phenotypic evaluation under a different set of environmental conditions. Principle component analysis suggests large variation in phenotypic traits associated with growth, metabolism and fitness, both within individual farm plots and across the entire region sampled. Analyses of gross plant morphology, panicle morphology, and seed morphology show different patterns associated with geographic location and cultivation. This work is the first step in characterizing the phenotypic and associated genotypic diversity of Saamakan rice.

1 - Cornell University, Plant Biology, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
2 - University of California, Riverside, Botany and Plant Sciences, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
3 - Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
4 - Cornell University, Plant Breeding, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

Keywords:
rice
Suriname
morphology
PCA.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Crops and Wild Relatives Posters
Location: Arizona Ballroom/Starr Pass
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2019
Time: 5:30 PM This poster will be presented at 5:30 pm. The Poster Session runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Posters with odd poster numbers are presented at 5:30 pm, and posters with even poster numbers are presented at 6:15 pm.
Number: PCW007
Abstract ID:329
Candidate for Awards:None