Phytolith Content Negatively Affects Forage Quality of Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees

GALLARDO, JIMENA; DIAZ MARINA; CARBALLO, JOSÉ; ANTONIO GARAYALDE; ECHENIQUE, VIVIANA

Agronomy

MDPI

Año: 2023 vol. 13

2073-4395

Phytoliths are intra and extracellular siliceous deposits present in different plant tissues.Si uptake and transport are mediated by Lsi genes and its concentration is associated with foragequality. Our objective was to determine the phytolith content in seven Eragrostis curvula genotypesat the outbreak and re-growth stages to assess its relationship with the forage quality parametersand perform a genome-wide analysis to detect the presence/absence of Lsi genes. The mean valuesof the phytolith content of dry matter varied between 1.94–2.26% and 2.72–4.71% at the outbreakand re-growth stages, respectively, with highly significant differences among the genotypes andphenological stages. A highly negative correlation was observed in the phytolith content and invitro dry matter digestibility and crude protein, revealing its importance as a selection parameter inbreeding programs. A positive correlation was obtained between the phytolith content and lignin,neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber. The main morphotypes of the phytoliths includedsaddle-shaped, bulliform, and acicular cells. Genes Lsi1, Lsi2, Lsi3, and Lsi6, previously reported insilica uptake, were identified and compared with related species, being the gene sequences highlyconserved, meaning that its accumulation is probably due to differences in the gene expression ordifferent allelic variants among cultivars.