Mating system analysis of Açaí-do-Amazonas (Euterpe precatoria Mart.) using molecular markers

Euterpe precatoria (Açaí-do-Amazonas) produces fruits of which the fresh pulp is consumed. It is almost exclusively collected by extractivist farmers, because no selected genotypes are available for the establishment of plantations. For the domestication and breeding of the species, mating system studies are needed for strategy formulation. This study evaluated the mating system of a natural population of E. precatoria. Thirteen progenies were genotyped with 13 microsatellite loci by capillary electrophoresis in an automated DNA sequencer. Estimates of single-locus and multilocus outcrossing rates were 1.0, and paternity correlation was low (r̂p(m) = 0.293). Euterpe precatoria families consist mainly of half-sibs and the reproductive strategy of the species is allogamy.