Abstract
Abstract The genetic diversity of Theobroma speciosum is important because its use in breeding programs, once the species is closely related to species of great economic value such as Theobroma cacao (cocoa) and Theobroma grandiflorum (cupuaçu). Thus, the objective of this work is to characterize the intra and interpopulational genetic diversity of Theobroma speciosum in natural populations in the Brazilian Amazon. Ninety individuals of T. speciosum from four populations localized in different states of legal Amazon were selected and genotyped. The data were obtained by fluorescence microsatellite analysis and the number of alleles, number of private alleles, fixation index, observed and expected heterozygosity were analyzed. Bayesian analysis, AMOVA and PCOa were used to reveal the molecular genetic structure of the populations, using the programs Structure and GenAIEx 6.5, respectively. All populations studied present great levels of gene diversity, although, there was a greater similarity among the AUR, API and MAC populations, while RBC population presented higher heterozygosity and less inbreeding than the others, becoming a possible refuge area in the Amazon, and the most important population for T. speciosum conservation.
Highlights
IntroductionWild species of the genus Theobroma (Malvaceae) are endemic in the Amazon region (Dias 2001) (see Figure S1, available on supplementary material ) and require research for their inclusion in breeding programs, since they represent genetic resources with potential for the development of varieties more productive and resistant to pests and diseases (Almeida et al 2009)
In the Amazon region there is a large variety of environments and an enormous potential of natural resources, this potential is found in the most diverse species of the botanical families found in the region, such as, Anacardiaceae, Araceae, Arecaceae, Asteraceae, Bignoniaceae, Fabaceae, Lauraceae, Lecythidaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae, and Rubiaceae (Steege et al 2016)
Native species reminiscent of the genus Theobroma is suffering from strong genetic erosion due to anthropic action (Alves et al 2013), which has led to the isolation of the populations in small fragments, reducing the number of reproductive individuals and the populational density (Young & Boyle 2000)
Summary
Wild species of the genus Theobroma (Malvaceae) are endemic in the Amazon region (Dias 2001) (see Figure S1, available on supplementary material ) and require research for their inclusion in breeding programs, since they represent genetic resources with potential for the development of varieties more productive and resistant to pests and diseases (Almeida et al 2009). Native species reminiscent of the genus Theobroma is suffering from strong genetic erosion due to anthropic action (Alves et al 2013), which has led to the isolation of the populations in small fragments, reducing the number of reproductive individuals and the populational density (Young & Boyle 2000). Considering that fact, measures that reduce the rate of deforestation are urgent in the fragmented Amazonian landscape
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