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Molecular characterization of the psbA gene in Chenopodium quinoa Willd

Abstract:

Quinoa is a sacred grain of Andean origin whose popularity is due to its excellent nutritional characteristics and broad phenotypic plasticity. It is a plant species that shows a majority condition of autogamy, with certain levels of alogamy. The psbA gene present in the chloroplast, mostly described in plants with maternal inheritance, codes for D1 protein. This protein is related to photosynthesis, as well as a target gene of different herbicides, since there are several chemical families that inhibit the action of D1 protein. Based on this background, we proceeded to characterize the psbA gene in the Regalona-Baer quinoa cultivar. To perform the molecular characterization, the DNA was first extracted, and then the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed, using information from the related species databases. The results show that the psbA gene in quinoa has a single copy, with a total of 1062 nucleotides, generating 354 amino acids including the “stop” codon. The total size of the sequence encoding the psbA gene showed a similar size to the 300 sequences of psbA genes existing in “The Chloroplast Genome Database”. The psbA gene could be the beginning to explore the diversity in the chloroplast genome of quinoa, to know the type of extra-chromosomal segregation and, above all, the potential to be able to generate herbicide-resistant cultivars associated with this gene.