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Domestication Potential of Garcinia kola Heckel (Clusiaceae): Searching for Diversity in South Cameroon

Authors :
Anna Maňourová
Irikidzai Prosper Chinheya
Marie Kalousová
José Alejandro Ruiz-Chután
Uche Cyprian Okafor
Zac Tchoundjeu
Alain Tsobeng
Patrick Van Damme
Bohdan Lojka
Source :
Plants, Vol 12, Iss 4, p 742 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2023.

Abstract

Seeds and bark of Garcinia kola Heckel (Clusiaceae) are popular products in West and Central Africa. Despite the tree’s economic and cultural importance, little is known about its phenotypic and genotypic variation. This study characterised the morphological and genetic diversity of G. kola in South Cameroon, searching for traits and populations that might be used for domestication. Morphological assessment and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were applied to characterise diversity among geographic populations from Central and South regions, and between managed and wild trees. AFLP-SURV and analysis of molecular variance results indicated that a major part of genetic diversity is harboured within populations rather than between them. Bayesian analysis, principal component analysis and t-SNE identified three clusters where Ebolowa emerged as the transition population combining features from both regions. Trees from the South demonstrated a higher incidence of domestication-related traits, showing higher genetic diversity compared to the Central region. This suggests that individuals from the South might be more suitable for selection as “elite trees” in future breeding strategies for the species. No significant differences in phenotype and genotype were revealed between wild and managed populations, suggesting G. kola is still in the early stages of its domestication process.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
22237747
Volume :
12
Issue :
4
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Plants
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.334cf0de089d4d69ad6a2c490ac66467
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12040742