Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae), a traditional starch crop in Oceania, has enjoyed legendary status ever since its role in the infamous mutiny aboard the H.M.S. Bounty in 1789, yet its origins remain unclear. Breadfruit's closest relatives are A. camansi and A. mariannensis. DNA fingerprinting data (AFLP, amplified fragment length polymorphisms) from over 200 breadfruit cultivars, 30 A. camansi, and 24 A. mariannensis individuals were used to investigate the relationships among these species. Multivariate analyses and the identification of species-specific AFLP markers indicate at least two origins of breadfruit. Most Melanesian and Polynesian cultivars appear to have arisen over generations of vegetative propagation and selection from A. camansi. In contrast, most Micronesian breadfruit cultivars appear to be the result of hybridization between A. camansi-derived breadfruit and A. mariannensis. Because breadfruit depends on humans for dispersal, the data were compared to theories on the human colonization of Oceania. The results agree with the well-supported theory that humans settled Polynesia via Melanesia. Additionally, a long-distance migration from eastern Melanesia into Micronesia is supported.

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Complex origins of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae): implications for human migrations in Oceania

Premise of the study Morning glories are an emerging model system, and resolving phylogenetic relationships is critical for understanding their evolution. Phylogenetic studies demonstrated that the largest morning glory genus, Ipomoea, is not monophyletic, and nine other genera are derived from within Ipomoea. Therefore, systematic research is focused on the monophyletic tribe Ipomoeeae (ca. 650-900 species). We used whole plastomes to infer relationships across Ipomoeeae. Methods Whole plastomes were sequenced for 29 morning glory species, representing major lineages. Phylogenies were estimated using alignments of 82 plastid genes and whole plastomes. Divergence times were estimated using three fossil calibration points. Finally, evolution of root architecture, flower color, and ergot alkaloid presence was examined. Key results Phylogenies estimated from both data sets had nearly identical topologies. Phylogenetic results are generally consistent with prior phylogenetic hypotheses. Higher-level relationships with weak support in previous studies were recovered here with strong support. Molecular dating analysis suggests a late Eocene divergence time for the Ipomoeeae. The two clades within the tribe, Argyreiinae and Astripomoeinae, diversified at similar times. Reconstructed most recent common ancestor of the Ipomoeeae had blue flowers, an association with ergot-producing fungi, and either tuberous or fibrous roots. Conclusions Phylogenetic results provide confidence in relationships among Ipomoeeae lineages. Divergence time estimation results provide a temporal context for diversification of morning glories. Ancestral character reconstructions support previous findings that morning glory morphology is evolutionarily labile. Taken together, our study provides strong resolution of the morning glory phylogeny, which is broadly applicable to the evolution and ecology of these fascinating species.

https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.3732/ajb.1300207

Phylogenetics and diversification of morning glories (tribe Ipomoeeae, Convolvulaceae) based on whole plastome sequences

The Food and Agriculture Organization recently reported the number undernourished people has reached a record high of 1.02 billion, most prevalent in the tropics. Breadfruit, Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg, is an underutilized Oceanic staple crop long recognized for its potential to alleviate hunger in tropical climates. Breadfruit can be grown sustainably with minimal agricultural inputs and can be multicropped with high value cash crops such as coffee, pepper, or vanilla. A great diversity of cultivars with varying nutritional and agronomic characteristics exists, yet few cultivars are widely cultivated. Recent developments in micropropagation have made possible large scale propagation and dissemination but to fully utilize this resource.  However, a deeper understanding of the nutritional characteristics and the development of new products and markets are needed. This review will highlight and describe the state of our current knowledge and the potential for breadfruit as a sustainable crop to provide new foods for Western markets and food security for the growing global population.

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Beyond the Bounty: Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) for food security and novel foods in the 21st Century

Breadfruit (Artocarpus, Moraceae) is an important staple in Oceania and throughout much of the tropics. Interpretations of species delimitations among breadfruit and its closest relatives have varied from recognition of one to several species. To better understand the systematics and ultimately the origins of breadfruit, we considered evidence from molecular data. Amplified fragment length polymorphism data for 261 individuals of breadfruit, its closest relatives, putative hybrids, and nine outgroup taxa were analyzed using neighbor joining and parsimony analyses. Three species, A. altilis (domesticated breadfruit), A. camansi ,a ndA. mariannensis, are recognized and the existence of hybrids (A. altilis A. mariannensis) verified. A revised treatment based on the molecular results, as well as morphological and geographical con- siderations, is presented.

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Systematics and Species Limits of Breadfruit (Artocarpus, Moraceae)

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae) is a traditional staple crop in Oceania and has been introduced throughout the tropics. This study examines important germplasm collections of breadfruit and its closest wild relatives and aims to (1) characterize genetic diversity, including identification of unknown and duplicate accessions, (2) evaluate genetic structure and hybridization within the breadfruit complex, and (3) compare utility of microsatellite markers to previously reported amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and isozyme markers in differentiating among cultivars. Data for 19 microsatellite loci were collected for 349 individuals (representing 255 accessions) including breadfruit (A. altilis), two wild relatives (Artocarpus camansi and Artocarpus mariannensis), and putative hybrids (A. altilis × A. mariannensis). Accessions were of mixed ploidy and regional origin, but predominantly from Oceania. Microsatellite loci collectively had a polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.627 and distinguished 197 unique genotypes sorted into 129 different lineages, but a single genotype accounts for 49 % of all triploid breadfruit examined. Triploid hybrids and diploid A. altilis exhibited the highest levels of diversity as measured by allele number and gene diversity. Most accessions (75 %) of unknown origin matched either a known genotype or lineage group in the collection. Putative hybrids all had genetic contributions from A. mariannensis but ranged in the level of genetic contribution from A. altilis. Microsatellite markers were found to be more informative than isozyme markers and slightly less informative, with regard to accession discrimination, than AFLP markers. This set of microsatellite markers and the dataset presented here will be valuable for breadfruit germplasm management and conservation.

Diversity in the breadfruit complex ( Artocarpus , Moraceae): genetic characterization of critical germplasm

I first discovered letters and other documents pertaining to the breadfruit story while I was seeking information on plants which had been introduced into Jamaica. These documents form part of the Brabourne collection of Banks papers and are located along with the Tobin Journal on H.M.S. Providence 1791-93 in the Mitchell Library, Sydney, Australia. The letters were written to Sir Joseph Banks, who had organized the expedition for taking breadfruit from the South Seas to the West Indies, by (among others) James Wiles and Christopher Smith, botanist-gardeners on the Providence; Dr. Arthur Broughton, a physician of Kingston, Jamaica; and Dr. Thomas Dancer, the Island Botanist. After I had obtained a copy of these letters and the part of Tobin's journal relevant to the West Indies, I thought it advisable to combine information they contained with material I had found during my research in the West India Reference Library of the Institute of Jamaica and the Widener Library of Harvard University, to reconstruct and make available a more complete picture of Bligh's very successful introduction of breadfruit into the British West Indies. Special mention must be made of another important source of information, Ida Lee's Captain Bligh's Second Voyage to the South Sea, which is based mainly on Captain Bligh's log.

The voyage of the plant nursery, H.M.S. Providence , 1791–1793

Stictocardia tiliifolia (Desr.) H. Hall. is accepted as the correct name for the type species ofStictocardia. An earlier name,Ipomoea campanulata L., regarded as a synonym of S.tiliifolia for the last 50 years, is found to be synonymous withIpomoea illustris (C. B. Clarke) Prain, a species occurring in coastal/tidal riverine habitats of South Asia. Material from interior habitats, calledI. campanulata by authors of Indian floras, is believed to represent a variety of trueI. campanulata or a closely related species.

Stictocardia tiliifolia (convolvulaceae) re-evaluated

Convolvulus grandiflorus Jacq. has been treated as a synonym ofOperculina ventricosa andStictocardia tiliifolia. It is here accepted as identifiable withIpomoea (sect.Calonyction)macrantha which is the correct name for Jacquin’s taxon. Full synonymies ofIpomoea macrantha andOperculina ventricosa are given, along with a comment about a variant occurring in Micronesia.

Dulcie A. Powell

Papers

The voyage of the plant nursery, H.M.S. Providence , 1791–1793

Stictocardia tiliifolia (convolvulaceae) re-evaluated

Convolvulus grandiflorus Jacq. (Convolvulaceae) re-examined