AFLP assessment of the genetic diversity of Calotropis procera (Apocynaceae) in the West Africa region (Benin)

TLDR: An improvement for local cheese-making industries might be achieved through identification of genotypes with high milk clotting potential and markers allowing marker-assisted breeding for high Milk clotting activity.

Abstract: Sodom apple (Calotropis procera [Ait.] W.T. Aiton) is a perennial shrub, quickly overgrowing pastures as a weed in subtropical and tropical climates. However, it is also used for various medicinal applications and for cheese-making. An improvement for local cheese-making industries might be achieved through identification of genotypes with high milk clotting potential and markers allowing marker-assisted breeding for high milk clotting activity. In Benin, the core center of the traditional cheese-making industry in West Africa, 20 accessions of C. procera were collected to analyze the genetic diversity using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technology. The 16 AFLP primer combinations assayed produced a total of 470 polymorphic fragments of 145–700 bp with an average of 54 fragments per primer combinations. Computation of the genetic diversity based on the Jaccard’s similarity coefficient demonstrated a broad genetic base with values ranging between 0.056 and 0.966. In the UPGMA dendrogram the 20 accessions formed five clusters. Geographically distinct locations as Djougou, Couffo and Cotonou got well resolved in the UPGMA dendrogram whereas the locations Malanville, Kandi, N’dali, Glazoue, Lama and Pobe could not be separated. The cluster analysis and PCoA showed that two accessions CY1 and CY2 from Cotonou formed an outgroup. These accessions displayed a very different pattern compared to the other accessions. It cannot be excluded that these accessions might represent C. gigantea or interspecific hybrids between the two species.