Exploring the genetic diversity of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) grown in Uganda based on SSR markers
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
Abstract
Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. is an economically
important tree crop that is widely cultivated
inUganda for its fruit. Despite its economic importance,
little is known about the genetic diversity of jackfruit in
the country. This puts the crop’s genetic resource at risk
as farmers selectively grow varieties based on market
demand. The study analyzed the genetic diversity of A.
heterophyllus trees from 12 districts belonging to three
agro-ecological zones and three political regions of
Uganda. Ten SSR loci were used to assess the genetic
relationship among 200 trees, 197 from Uganda and 3
out-group individuals. All SSR loci were polymorphic
with an average of 10.9 alleles per locus. STRUCTURE
analysis proposed two genetic clusters: Cluster 1 was
composed of samples from Eastern and neighboring
Central districts, and Cluster 2 which constituted outgroups
and samples from Western and neighboring
Central districts. Results of STRUCTURE analysis
were confirmed by PCoA. Mbarara District exhibited
the highest genetic diversity (He = 0.79, I = 1.71),
while Kamuli (He = 0.61, I = 1.08 and Pallisa (He =
0.59, I = 1.12) displayed the lowest genetic diversity
despite high abundances of jackfruit trees. Molecular
variation was higher within populations than among
populations. Moderate and significant genetic differentiation
was registered among geographical zones, while
varietal differences displayed little insignificant genetic
differentiation. Soft and white pulped varieties, considered
inferior on the market, harbored private alleles
which may be genetically valuable resources. Therefore,
sustainable utilization and conservation efforts of
the jackfruit genetic resource should consider preserving
inferior varieties for future crop improvement.
Description
Keywords
Crop improvement, Conservation, Genetic resource, Microsatellites
Citation
Nakintu, J., Albrecht, C., Müller, C. M., Kagoro-Rugunda, G., Andama, M., Olet, E. A., ... & Gemeinholzer, B. (2020). Exploring the genetic diversity of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) grown in Uganda based on SSR markers. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 67(3), 605-619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-019-00830-5(0123456789().,-volV() 0123458697().,-volV)