Abstract:
Bananas (Musa) are one of the most important tropical fruit crops in Thailand
which believed to be one as the centers of origins. To assess genetic diversity and
determine genetic relationships of edible bananas in Thailand, 135 accessions of
Musa cultivars and species were collected from villages, and natural locations were
investigated, with wild M. itinerans served as an outgroup taxon. The Amplified
Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) analyses of eight primer combinations
revealed a total of 730 polymorphic bands and 136 unique marker bands on these
Musa accessions. UPGMA clustering of numerical data from AFLP patterns
showed two large groups that corresponded to genome designations of M.
acuminata (A) and M. balbisiana (B), which were known ancestors of most edible
cultivars. The AFLP results can be used to distinguish M. acuminata subspecies,
and M. balbisiana. The AFLP data suggested that Thai bananas, i.e. AA, AAA and
some AAB cultivars are closely related to M acuminata subsp. malaccensis. Two
forms of this subspecies were found: the typical malaccensis and Kra Isthmus
forms. The first was commonly found in southern Thailand and in a new location in
the North, while the latter was found only in Ranong and nearby provinces. The
ABB, BBA and BBB cultivars were closely related to wild M. balbisiana in
Thailand and the others have probably been imported from somewhere else such as
the Pacific Islands. Unique marker bands showed different characteristics among
M. balbisiana and related cultivated bananas and the subspecies within M.
acuminata. The analyses were useful to infer progenitors of these cultivars,
pronounce wide genetic diversity of the bananas in Thailand, and encourage for
more wild accessions from different geographic origins to be studied.
Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center