Morphological and AFLP diversity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thaumatococcus daniellii</Emphasis>, the source of the protein sweetener thaumatin |
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| Authors: | Wojciech S Waliszewski Fergus L Sinclair Katherine A Steele |
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| Institution: | (1) School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography (SENRGY), Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK;(2) World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya; |
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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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