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Morphological and AFLP diversity in Thaumatococcus daniellii, the source of the protein sweetener thaumatin

  • Notes on Neglected and Underutilized Crops
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Abstract

Thaumatococcus daniellii is a perennial African wild edible plant. Fruit arils from natural populations are the source of the protein sweetener, thaumatin. There are relatively few documented examples of its cultivation, however it has great potential as an intercrop for cultivation under rubber or cocoa. Across the species range there is notable diversity in leaf and fruit morphology. In this study, T. daniellii populations from four provenances in Ghana and Cameroon (separated by the Dahomey Gap) were compared for leaf and fruit morphology in situ and in an experiment using plants grown from sampled rhizomes planted under rubber in a single location in Cameroon. When collected rhizomes from four provenances were planted at one location, the samples from the local provenance produced the largest plants and fruits, and there was less morphological variation between samples from different provenances than was recorded in situ. In situ morphological differences were notable between north–south separated provenances in each country. Fruit collected in situ was analysed for aril thaumatin content and significant variation was found between provenances (1.08–2.00%). Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to assess genetic diversity among the four provenances and 54% of loci were polymorphic. Cluster analysis of AFLP data separated samples of T. daniellii according to geographical origin. Maximum genetic diversity was found between provenances separated across the Dahomey Gap.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the communities of Nsuta and Gbledi-Gbogame villages in Ghana and Etome and Mebanga in Cameroon for assistance with field work and the Wildlife Conservation Society (Cameroon), the Forest Services Division (FSD) (Tarkwa) and Forest Im-Pex (Ghana) for logistical support. The Cameroon Development Corporation kindly provided land for experimental field trials and access to their laboratories. We thank M. Lyonga for field assistance and maintenance of experimental trials and C. Boy for advice on thaumatin extraction. This work was funded by grants from The Natural Resources International Foundation (NRIF), The Gen Foundation, The Society for Experimental Biology, The Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust, The Sir William Roberts Scholarship and Natex UK Ltd.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography (SENRGY), Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK

    Wojciech S. Waliszewski, Fergus L. Sinclair & Katherine A. Steele

  2. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

    Fergus L. Sinclair

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  1. Wojciech S. Waliszewski
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  2. Fergus L. Sinclair
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  3. Katherine A. Steele
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Correspondence to Katherine A. Steele.

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Waliszewski, W.S., Sinclair, F.L. & Steele, K.A. Morphological and AFLP diversity in Thaumatococcus daniellii, the source of the protein sweetener thaumatin. Genet Resour Crop Evol 59, 151–161 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-011-9771-9

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