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Origin and ancestry of Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) As revealed by AFLP markers

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Abstract

The origin and ancestry for Egyptian clover, Trifolium alexandrinum, was examined using AFLP data. The data support a close relationship of T. alexandrinum accessions from Syria and Egypt to T. apertum, T. berytheum, and T. salmoneum. However, crossability and geographic distributions suggest that T. apertum is an unlikely progenitor. In contrast, T. salmoneum appears to be the most probable progenitor for Syrian material of Egyptian clover, although a close relationship to T. berytheum was also revealed. The ability of these species to cross freely indicates that T. salmoneum and T. berytheum may be regarded as the primary ancestors from, which man domesticated Egyptian clover through artificial selection in Syria. Following domestication, the earlier forms of the crop species could have been taken into rain-fed cultivation in Palestine and irrigated cultivation in Egypt. In this regard, the domestication of Egyptian clover may be analogous to other crops, such as barley and wheat, which were also domesticated in the Fertile Crescent and taken into cultivation in the Nile Valley. It appears that genetic improvement of the crop occurred in Egypt after cultivation, and that the varieties that were developed in Egypt were later distributed worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and technical advice of Director Chris Wood. We are also grateful to Professor David Francko, former Chair of the Botany Department at Miami University, for facilities and encouragement. AB acknowledges the financial support by Tanta University and the Fulbright Foundations in Washington and Cairo, and HH thanks Ain Shams University in Cairo and the International Office of Miami University for financing her visit to Miami University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botany Department, Faculty of Sciences, Tanta University, Tanta, 31527, Egypt

    Abdelfattah Badr

  2. Department of Biological Sciences and Geology, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

    Hanaa H. El-Shazly

  3. Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Linda E. Watson

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  1. Abdelfattah Badr
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  2. Hanaa H. El-Shazly
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  3. Linda E. Watson
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Correspondence to Abdelfattah Badr.

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Badr, A., El-Shazly, H.H. & Watson, L.E. Origin and ancestry of Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) As revealed by AFLP markers. Genet Resour Crop Evol 55, 21–31 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-007-9210-0

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