Successful cross of Arachis duranensis as female with A. ipaёnsis

Abstract

Arachis hypogaea L. originated in South America and has been taken to most of the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world as a valuable food crop with high protein content and a source of high energy unsaturated oil. The origin of the cultivated peanut, 2n = 4x = 40, has been the subject of many discussions, but the primitive parents have been agreed on by most as A. duranensis being the A genome donor and A. ipaënsis the B donor; both diploids with 2n = 20. Whether the chromosome doubling of this hybrid occurred in a natural setting or in the garden of a hunter-gatherer-cultivator is also a subject of debate, but most likely it occurred innature. Molecular analyses have established that A. duranensis was the female of the cross.Until recently no one had been successful in making and establishing plants of the cross in that direction. However, the reciprocal cross is easily accomplished and has been reported several times. The primary objective of this paper is to report the successful cross and development of hybrid plants, amphidiploids and populations from the hybrid, A. duranensis × A. ipaënsis.