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Characterization of the genetic diversity of the Tall coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Dominican Republic using microsatellite (SSR) markers

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Abstract

The predominant coconut variety cultivated in the Dominican Republic is a local Tall, known as criollo. It was never characterized genetically. The Malayan Dwarf and its hybrid with the local Tall are also present. Thirteen accessions, representing nine localities, are planted in a collection at the Instituto Dominicano de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IDIAF). We explored genetic diversity in 114 individuals from this collection. The main aim was to detect possible relationship with resistant varieties to coconut lethal yellowing (LY) disease. Contrarily to what happened in other Caribbean countries, LY never became an epidemic in the Dominican Republic. Thirteen simple sequence repeats markers from a kit dedicated to coconut diversity were used. In addition to diversity parameters, we used Bayesian assignment tests and cluster analysis to determine its population structure and its relationship with other coconut populations. The criollo coconut proved to be a typical Indo-Atlantic variety and is probably highly susceptible to the usual LY pathogens. Local conditions and the nature of the local phytoplasma strain probably explain the particular epidemiology of LY in the Dominican Republic. As a cross-pollinating variety, the criollo presents polymorphism within a population, but there is little if any variation among populations. The marker study confirmed the hybrid status of each member of two accessions and, thus, the reliability of the sampling.

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Abbreviations

 :

 

MYD:

Malayan Yellow Dwarf–Malaysia

BRTxx:

various populations from the Brazilian Tall–Brazil

CALT:

Calangute Tall–India

CKT:

Cameroon Kribi Tall–Cameroon

DRT:

Dominican Republic Tall–Dominican Republic

JMT:

Jamaica Tall–Jamaica

LMT:

Laccadive Micro Tall–India

MXAT:

Mexican Atlantic Tall–Mexico

SCT:

Seychelles Tall–Seychelles Islands

SKGT:

Sakhi Ghopal Tall–India

SLT:

Sri Lanka Tall–Sri Lanka

TTOT:

Trinidad and Tobago Tall–Trinidad and Tobago

WAT4+, WAT6:

West African Tall–Côte d'Ivoire and Benin, respectively

WCT:

Indian West Coast Tall–India

ADOT:

Andaman Ordinary Tall–India

CMT:

Comoro Moheli Tall–Comoros

EAT, EAT12:

Two populations of the East African Tall–Tanzania

EAT15:

East African Tall–Kenya

ECT:

Indian East Coast Tall–India

KPDT:

Kappadam Tall–India

LCT:

Laccadives Ordinary Tall–India

MZT, MZTa, MZTb, MZTc, MZTd:

various populations of the Mozambique Tall–Mozambique

SLT12:

“Margaret” population of the Sri Lanka Tall–Sri Lanka

SNRT01:

“Clovis” population of the San Ramon Tall–Sri Lanka

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Acknowledgment

We thank the Cogent network, which helped us in obtaining plant material for the reference set of coconut DNA and the Genotyping Platform of the Languedoc Roussillon Genopole, hosted by CIRAD (C. Billot, R. Rivallan, and A. Bouet) where all the SSR data have been obtained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Dominicano de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IDIAF), Proteccion Vegetal, Calle Rafael Augusto Sanchez No. 89, Ensanche Evaristo Morales, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

    Reina Teresa Martinez

  2. Centre International de Recherches en Agronomie pour le Développement (CIRAD), TA A-96/03, Avenue Agropolis, 34398, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Luc Baudouin & Angélique Berger

  3. Centre International de Recherches en Agronomie pour le Développement (CIRAD), TA A-29/F, Campus International de Baillarguet, 34398, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Michel Dollet

Authors
  1. Reina Teresa Martinez
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  2. Luc Baudouin
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  3. Angélique Berger
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  4. Michel Dollet
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luc Baudouin.

Additional information

Communicated by A. Dandekar

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Martinez, R.T., Baudouin, L., Berger, A. et al. Characterization of the genetic diversity of the Tall coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Dominican Republic using microsatellite (SSR) markers. Tree Genetics & Genomes 6, 73–81 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-009-0229-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-009-0229-6

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