Author
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LOOR, REY - NATL CACAO & COFFEE |
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Saunders, James |
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AMORES, FREDDY - NATL CACAO & COFFEE |
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Submitted to: Mid Atlantic Plant Molecular Biology Society Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2002 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Native Ecuadorian chocolate trees (Nacional variety) are in danger of being eradicated from Ecuador because of their susceptibility to widespread fungal diseases of cacao and farmer preference for other varieties. In more than 95% of the area that contained Nacional cacao, it has been replaced with cacao from other countries. For Ecuador, it is a priority to identify and preserve the genotypes of the native variety due to the superior flavor (the famous "ARRIBA" flavor). Molecular techniques are very useful tools in the genetic identification and characterization of cultivars prior to the implementation of breeding programs. The present work utilized simple sequence repeats (SSRs), using 15 different primers that have been proposed as international molecular standards for cacao, to characterize Ecuadorian cacao genotypes. Fluorescent peaks from DNA fragment analysis were obtained using capillary electrophoresis (ABI 310 genetic analyzer) and were translated into binary data (i.e. presence (1), absence (0)) to perform an UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method, Arithmetic average) cluster analysis using NTSYS software (Numerical Taxonomy System). The dendrogram showing the genetic diversity among the cacao samples shows Ecuadorian Nacional genotypes grouped together and separated from the Amazonian varieties. No identical individuals were found among the group of accessions. Using SSR DNA fingerprinting methodologies we can get useful information for the development of breeding programs through the assessment of homozygosity, heterozygosity and individual relatedness. |
