Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Oct 1;3(10):e3311.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003311.

Geographic and genetic population differentiation of the Amazonian chocolate tree (Theobroma cacao L)

Juan C Motamayor  1 , Philippe Lachenaud, Jay Wallace da Silva E Mota, Rey Loor, David N Kuhn, J Steven Brown, Raymond J Schnell
Affiliations

Geographic and genetic population differentiation of the Amazonian chocolate tree (Theobroma cacao L)

Juan C Motamayor et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Numerous collecting expeditions of Theobroma cacao L. germplasm have been undertaken in Latin-America. However, most of this germplasm has not contributed to cacao improvement because its relationship to cultivated selections was poorly understood. Germplasm labeling errors have impeded breeding and confounded the interpretation of diversity analyses. To improve the understanding of the origin, classification, and population differentiation within the species, 1241 accessions covering a large geographic sampling were genotyped with 106 microsatellite markers. After discarding mislabeled samples, 10 genetic clusters, as opposed to the two genetic groups traditionally recognized within T. cacao, were found by applying Bayesian statistics. This leads us to propose a new classification of the cacao germplasm that will enhance its management. The results also provide new insights into the diversification of Amazon species in general, with the pattern of differentiation of the populations studied supporting the palaeoarches hypothesis of species diversification. The origin of the traditional cacao cultivars is also enlightened in this study.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Localization of the origin of individuals analyzed; colors indicate the inferred genetic cluster to which they belong.
Approximated location of Amazon ancient ridges (“palaeoarches”) is shown, after , in order of apparition clockwise: Fitzcarrald, Marañon, Serra do Moa, Iquitos, Vaupés, Carauari, Purús, Monte Alegre and Gurupa. U: Upper and M: Middle Solimðes.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Neighbor joining tree from Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards genetic distance matrix among the 36 subclusters identified using Structure (559 clones).
Values represent percentages after bootstraps on the 96 loci retained.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Pang Thau Yin J. Rootstock effects on cocoa in Sabah, Malaysia. Experimental Agriculture. 2004;40
    1. Warren J. Cocoa breeding in the 21st century; 1992 13–17th September; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. pp. 215–220.
    1. Cheesman E. Notes on the nomenclature, classification and possible relationships of cocoa populations. Tropical Agriculture. 1944;21:144–159.
    1. Cuatrecasas J. Cacao and its allies: a taxonomic revision of the genus Theobroma. Contribution US Herbarium. 1964;35:379–614.
    1. de-la-Cruz M, Whitkus R, Gomez-Pompa A, Mota-Bravo L. Origins of cacao cultivation. Nature London. 1995;375:542–543.

Publication types