Ascertaining maternal and paternal lineage withinMusaby chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA RFLP analyses

Abstract

In banana, the maternal transmission of chloroplast DNA and paternal transmission of the mitochondrial DNA provides an exceptional opportunity for studying the maternal and paternal lineage of clones. In the present study, RFLP combined with hybridization of heterologous mitochondrial and chloroplastic probes have been used to characterize 71 wild accessions and 131 diploid and 103 triploid cultivated clones. In additon to Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, other species from the four Musa sections were studied to investigate their contribution to the origin of cultivated bananas. These molecular analyses enable the classification of the Musa complex to be discussed. Results ascertain relationships among and between the wild accessions and the mono- and interspecific diploid and triploid bananas, particularly for the acuminata genome. Parthenocarpic varieties are shown to be linked to M. acuminata banksii and M. acuminata errans, thus suggesting that the first center of domestication was in the Philippines - New Guinea area.

Differentiating the Volcaniform Phytoliths of Bananas: Musa acuminata

“…These studies also indicate that almost all AA cultivars (AAcvs) are the result of intersubspecific hybridizations. However, the results of complementary analyses at cytoplasmic DNA level imply the presence of several banksii alleles in all AAcvs (Carreel et al 2002). Consequently, the following historical hypothesis can be proposed: (1) in a first phase, and through cultural contact, initial inter-subspecific AAcvs were generated with a major contribution of banksii, and input from microcarpa and zebrina; (2) in a later phase, other cultural interactions brought the basic AAcvs into contact with the more 'northern' subspecies malaccensis, errans, truncata (?)…”

The Original Banana Split: Multi-disciplinary implications of the generation of African and Pacific Plantains in Island Southeast Asia

“…ing its likely origin and regarded as subspecies microcarpa, has a nuclear genome very close to subspecies banksii but with a different cytoplasmic genome (Carreel et al 2002). Its heterozygosity is higher than subspecies banksii, indicating a hybrid status with subspecies banksii as one parent.…”

Why Bananas Matter: An introduction to the history of banana domestication

“…domestication is extremely complex, occurred over thousands of years and involved multiple stages, often separated in time and place (Carreel et al 2002, De Langhe & de Maret 1999. The process exhibits the antiquity over which people have affected the natural course of plant evolution in the tropics and subtropics, whether intentionally or unintentionally.…”