Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci for Butter Content and Hardness in Cocoa Beans (Theobroma cacao L.)

  • Published:
Plant Molecular Biology Reporter Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Cocoa butter is an important raw material for the chocolate, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. The butter content and quality in cocoa beans are genetically controlled characteristics, and affect its commercial value and industrial applicability. In the present work, an F2 population derived from the cross between the ICS-1 and Scavina-6 cocoa clones was used for molecular mapping. A linkage map was constructed based on amplified fragment length polymorphism, random amplified polymorphic DNA, and simple sequence repeat markers, resulting in a total of 273 markers, distributed in 14 linkage groups (LGs). Phenotyping of butter content was performed after ether extraction and butter hardness was determined by sweeping differential calorimetry. One quantitative trait locus (QTL) associated to butter content was mapped at linkage group 9 (LG9) and two QTLs for butter hardness were identified at linkage groups 9 and 7 (LG9 and LG7). The two QTLs mapped at the LG9 explained 51.0% and 28.8% of the phenotypic variation for butter content and hardness, respectively. These QTLs were concentrated in the same map region, suggesting a close genetic linkage or pleiotropic effect. The QTLs identified may be useful in further marker-assisted selection breeding programs aimed at cocoa butter quality improvement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

QTL:

Quantitative trait loci

LG:

Linkage group

AFLP:

Amplified fragment length polymorphism

RAPD:

Random amplified polymorphic DNA

SSR:

Simple sequence repeat

SCAR:

Sequence characterized amplified region

References

  • Are LA, Atanda OA (1972) Seasonal influences on some yield factors in four varieties of Theobroma cacao L. Trop Agric 49:61–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Atanda OA, Jacob VJ (1973) Comparative field-pod value of West African Amelonado and Amazon cacao in Nigéria Ghana. J Sci 13:72–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Basten CJ, Weir BS, Zeng ZB (1994) Zmap—a QTL cartographer. In: Smith C, Gavona JS, Benkel B, Chesnais J, Fairfull W, Gibson JP, Kennedy BW, Burnside EB, editors. Proceedings of the 5th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production: computing strategies and software. Ontario: Guelph p. 65–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Basten CJ, Weir BS, Zeng ZB (1999) QTL cartographer, version 113. Raleigh: Departament of Statistics, North Caroline State University

    Google Scholar 

  • Borrone JW, Kuhn DN, Schnell RJ (2004) Isolation, characterization, and development of WRKY genes as useful genetic markers in Theobroma cacao. Theor Appl Genet 109:495–507. doi:10.1007/s00122-004-1662-4

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clement D, Risterucci AM, Ducamp M, N’Goran J, Lanaud C (2000) Cartographie génétique de carctéres impliqués dans le rendiment et de caractéres de feves dans trois descendances derives de deux geniteurs Trinitario et dún géniteur Forastero haut amazonien. In: Proceedings 13th International Cocoa Research Conference, Cocoa Producers’ Alliance, Lagos

  • Clement D, Risterucci AM, Motamayor JC, N’Goran J, Lanaud C (2003a) Mapping quantitative trait loci bean traits and ovule number in Theobroma cacao L. Genome 46:103–111. doi:10.1139/g02-118

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clement D, Risterucci AM, Motamayor JC, N’Goran J, Lanaud C (2003b) Mapping QTL for yield components, vigor, and resistance to Phytophthora palmivora in Theobroma cacao L. Genome 46:204–212. doi:10.1139/g02-125

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crouzillat D, Lerceteau E, Petiard V, Morera J, Rodriguez H, Walker D, Phillips W, Ronning C, Schenell R, Osei J, Fritz P (1996) Theobroma cacao L.: a genetic linkage map and quantitative trait locus analysis. Theor Appl Genet 93:205–214

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crouzillat D, Menard B, Mora A, Phillips W, Petiard V (2000a) Quantitative trait analysis in Theobroma cacao using molecular markers—yield QTL detection and stability over 15 years. Euphytica 114:13–23. doi:10.1023/A:1003892217582

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crouzillat D, Phillips W, Fritz P, Petiard V (2000b) Quantitative trait analysis in Theobroma cacao using molecular markers—inheritance of polygenic resistance to Phytophthora palmivora in two related cacao populations—polygenic resistance to Phytophthora palmivora in cacao. Euphytica 114:25–36. doi:10.1023/A:1003994212394

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dias, LAS (2001) Melhoramento Genético do Cacaueiro. Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil

  • Dias LAS, Resende MDV (2001) Estratégias e métodos de seleção. In: Dias LAS, editors. Melhoramento Genético do Cacaueiro, 1rd edn. Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil

  • Doyle JJ, Doyle JL (1990) Isolation of plant DNA from fresh tissue. Focus 12:13–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Faleiro FG, Queiroz VT, Lopes UV, Guimarães CT, Pires JL, Yamada MM, Araújo IS, Pereira MG, Schnell R, De Souza Filho GA, Ferreira CF, Barros EG, Moreira MA (2006) Mapping QTLs for witches’ broom (Crinipellis perniciosa) resistance in cacao. Euphytica 149:227–235. doi:10.1007/s10681-005-9070-7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Figueira AVO, Cascardo JCM (2001) Marcadores moleculares no melhoramento. In: Dias LAS, editor. Melhoramento Genético do Cacaueiro, 1rd edn. Viçosa, Minas Gerais

  • Figueira AVO, Pires JL, Cascardo JCM, Cardoso RD, Nascimento CS, Lambert SV (1999) Cocoa butter quality can be improved by genetic breeding for fatty acid and triacylglycerol composition and hardness. Int Cocoa Res Conf 12:399–407

    Google Scholar 

  • Flament MH, Kebe I, Clement D, Pieretti I, Risterucci AM, N’Goran JA, Cilas C, Despreaux D, Lanaud C (2001) Genetic mapping of resistance factors to Phytophthora palmivora in cocoa. Genome 44:79–85. doi:10.1139/gen-44-1-79

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jansen RC (1993) Maximum likelihood in a generalized linear finite mixture model by using the EM algorithm. Biometrics 49:227–231. doi:10.2307/2532616

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kosambi DD (1944) The estimation of map distances from recombination values. Ann Eugen 12:172–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Kulwal PL, Roy JK, Balyan HS, Gupta PK (2003) QTL mapping for growth and leaf characters in bread wheat. Plant Sci 164:267–277. doi:10.1016/S0168-9452(02)00409-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert SV, Pires JL, Machado RCR, Nascimento CS, Cardoso RD, Figueira A (1996) Seasonal hardness variations of Bahia cocoa butter. Int Cocoa Res Conf 12:817–823

    Google Scholar 

  • Lanaud C, Risterucci AM, N’Goran JAK, Clement D, Flament MH, Laurent V, Falque M (1995) A genetic linkage map of Theobroma cacao L. Theor Appl Genet 91:987–993. doi:10.1007/BF00223910

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lanaud C, Kebe I, Risterucci AM, N’Goran JAK, Rivet L, Tahi M, Cilas C, Pieretti I, Eskes A, Despreaux D (1997) Mapping quantitative trait locus (QTL) for resistance to Phytophthora palmivora. In: T. cacao Conference Plant & Animal Genome Scherago International, San Diego p. 137

  • Lanaud C, Risterucci AM, Pieretti I, Falque M, Bouet A, Lagoda PJL (1999) Isolation and characterization of microsatellites in Theobroma cacao L. Mol Ecol 8:2141–2152

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lander ES, Green P, Abrahamson J, Baarlow A, Daly MJ, Lincon SE, Newburg L (1987) MAPMAKER: an interactive computer package for constructing primary linkage maps of experimental and natural populations. Genomics 1:174–181

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liendo R, Padilha FC, Quintana A (1997) Characterization of cocoa butter extracted from Criollo cultivars of Theobroma cacao L. Food Res Int 30:727–731

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Motilal LA, Sounigo O, Thévenin JM, Risterucci AM, Pieretti I, Noyer JL, Lanaud C (2000) Theobroma cacao L.: genome map and QTL for Phytophthora palmivora resistance. In: Proceedings 13th International Cocoa Research Conference, Cocoa Producers’ Alliance, Lagos

  • Peighambari SA, Samadi BY, Nabipour A, Charmetb G, Sarrafi A (2005) QTL analysis for agronomic traits in a barley doubled haploids population grown in Iran. Plant Sci 169:1008–1013

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pires JL, Cascardo JCM, Lambert SV, Figueira A (1995) Cacao germoplasm characterization based on fat content. In: International Workshop on Cocoa Breeding Strategies. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  • Pires JL, Cascardo JCM, Lambert SV, Figueira A (1998) Increasing cocoa butter yield through genetic improvement of Theobroma cacao L: seed fat content variability, inheritance, and association with seed yield. Euphytica 103:115–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pugh T, Fouet O, Risterucci AM, Brottier P, Abouladze M, Deletrez C, Courtois B, Clement D, Larmande P, N’Goran JA, Lanaud C (2004) A new cacao linkage map based on codominant markers: development and integration of 201 new microsatellite markers. Theor Appl Genet 108:1151–1161

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Queiroz VT, Guimarães CT, Ahnert D, Snhuster I, Daher RF, Pereira MG, Miranda VRM, Loguercio LL, Barros EG, Moreira MA (2003) Identification of a major QTL in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L) associated with resistance to witches’ broom disease. Plant Breed 122:268–272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Risterucci AM, Paulin D, N’Goran J, Ducamp M, Lanaud C (2000) Mapping of “Quantitative Trait Loci” (QTL) for resistance to Phytophthora. In: Theobroma cacao L. INGENIC Newsletter 5:9–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Risterucci AM, Paulin D, Ducamp M, N’Goran JAK, Lanaud C (2003) Identification of QTLs related to cocoa resistance to three species of Phytophthora. Theor Appl Genet 93:205–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Saunders JM, Mischke S, Leamy EA, Hemeida AA (2004) Selection of international molecular standards for DNA fingerprinting of Theobroma cacao. Theor Appl Genet 110:41–47

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tucci MLS, Saes LA, Figueira A, Pereira NAM, Turatti JM (1996) Seleção de genótipos para produção de manteiga de cacau no vale do Ribeira, São Paulo, Brasil. Int Cocoa Res Conf 12:471–482

    Google Scholar 

  • Vos P, Hogers R, Bleeker M, Reijans M, Lee T, Hornes M, Frigtrs A, Pot J, Peleman J, Kuiper M, Zabeau M (1995) AFLP: a new technique for DNA fingerprinting. Nucleic Acids Res 23:4407–4414

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williams JG, Kubelik AR, Livak KJ, Rafalski LA, Tingey SV (1990) DNA polymorphism amplified by arbitrary primers are useful as genetic markers. Nucleic Acids Res 18:6531–6535

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu YB (1997) Quantitative trait loci: separating, pyramiding, and cloning. Plant Breeding Rev 15:85–139

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng ZB (1993) Theoretical basis for separation of multiple linked gene effects in mapping quantitative trait loci. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 90:10972–10976

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng ZB (1994) Precision mapping of quantitative trait loci. Genetics 136:1457–1468

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the funding from the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) and the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) through project CFC/ICCO/BIOMOL/FUNPAB and the collaboration of Dr. Antonio Augusto Franco Garcia from the Department of Genetics, ESALQ/USOP and Dr. Ivan Schuster from the Central Agricultural Research Cooperative (COODETEC) who helped with the analyses.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Melhoramento Genético Vegetal, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, 28013-600, Brazil

    Ioná S. Araújo & Messias G. Pereira

  2. Laboratório de Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, 28013-600, Brazil

    Gonçalo A. de Souza Filho

  3. EMBRAPA, Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuária dos Cerrados, Caixa Postal 08223, Planaltina, DF, 73301-970, Brazil

    Fábio G. Faleiro

  4. BIOAGRO/Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, 36571-000, Brazil

    Vagner T. de Queiroz, Maurílio A. Moreira & Everaldo G. de Barros

  5. EMBRAPA Milho e Sorgo, Caixa Postal 151, Sete Lagoas, MG, 35701-970, Brazil

    Cláudia T. Guimarães

  6. Centro de Pesquisas Almirante Cacau, Caixa Postal 55, Itajuípe, BA, 45630-000, Brazil

    Regina C. R. Machado

  7. Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau (CEPEC)/CEPLAC, Caixa Postal 7, Itabuna, BA, 45600-000, Brazil

    José L. Pires & Uilson V. Lopes

  8. Subtropical Horticulture Research Station, USDA–ARS, 13601 Old Cutler Road, Miami, FL, 33158, USA

    Raymond Schenell

Authors
  1. Ioná S. Araújo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gonçalo A. de Souza Filho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Messias G. Pereira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fábio G. Faleiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Vagner T. de Queiroz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Cláudia T. Guimarães
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Maurílio A. Moreira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Everaldo G. de Barros
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Regina C. R. Machado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. José L. Pires
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Raymond Schenell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Uilson V. Lopes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gonçalo A. de Souza Filho.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Araújo, I.S., de Souza Filho, G.A., Pereira, M.G. et al. Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci for Butter Content and Hardness in Cocoa Beans (Theobroma cacao L.). Plant Mol Biol Rep 27, 177–183 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-008-0069-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-008-0069-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation