Root thiophenes in Tagetes minuta L. accessions from Argentina: genetic and environmental contribution to changes in concentration and composition

Three wild Tagetes minuta accessions were collected from Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Salta provinces in Argentina and were grown in the same environment to study the concentration and composition of root thiophenes, and the production of aerial biomass. The accessions showed quantitative, but not qualitative differences in thiophenes. Five thiophenes were identified. In the Buenos Aires and Salta accessions, concentrations of total thiophenes were independent of changes in aerial biomass production, but in the Mendoza accession we found a positive correlation between total thiophenes and aerial biomass. In the Mendoza accession we observed dramatic changes in the concentration of thiophenes between years. The composition of thiophenes in the Salta and Mendoza accessions was characterized by low concentrations of BBT and α-T and high concentrations of BBTOH, whereas thiophenes in the Mendoza accession had a higher concentration of BBTOH than did the Buenos Aires accession.