Genetic relationships amongst macadamia varieties grown in South Africa as assessed by RAF markers

Abstract

Macadamia is an important horticultural crop of South Africa, and the major cultivars grown have a wide range of attributes. These cultivars originated from diverse backgrounds, but the genetic relatio'nships between them are unclear. Here we describe new insights into the genetic identity, relationships, and species composition of 38 varieties of macadamia representing the diversity currently available within the macadamia industry of South Africa. The varieties were surveyed with the DNA marker system, RAF (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA). Varieties ranged from pure Macadamia integrifolia, through hybrids of varying species proportions, to pure M. tetraphylla, and fall into at least seven major germplasm groups. Local hybrid selections were genetically distinct from those of other selection o'rigins. The cultivar 791 was unusual, identified as a tri-species hybrid containing a significant proportion of the wild species M. temifolia. It was also shown that 741 u is the true 741 cultivar and 741 s is actually the cul!ivar 800.

Genetic Resources and Domestication of Macadamia

“…Recent development of DNA marker methodology (Aradhya et al 1998;Steiger 2003;Steiger et al 2003;Peace 2005;Peace et al 2005;Schmidt et al 2006) has assisted with the elucidation of genetic relationships in the domesticated germplasm. A review of published and unpublished literature identified over 900 cultivar names representing 500 apparently distinct genetic entities (Hardner and McConchie 1999).…”

“…In addition, Hawaiian cultivars are responsible for much of the current world production (Hamilton and Fukunaga 1970;Allan 1989;Ito and Hamilton 1989;Stephenson 1990a;Peace et al 2005;Tay 2006). …”

“…In total, 165 dominant markers and nine codominant microsatellite markers were used (Peace 2005). These markers were also employed to verify/deduce the parentage or identity of certain cultivars within the 85-cultivar set Peace 2005;Peace et al 2005), the results of which are described within the domestication history sections. For this purpose, the microsatellite markers were the most useful, while the accompanying dominant markers provided abundant accessory information (Peace 2005).…”

Caracterização química e perfil de ácidos graxos em cultivares de nogueira-macadâmia

“…*Autor para correspondência. II (PEACE et al, 2005). No Brasil, os trabalhos de melhoramento genético com a nogueiramacadâmia foram realizados, inicialmente, pelo Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC), que visou, sobretudo, à seleção de cultivares produtivas e adaptadas às condições climáticas do Estado de São Paulo (SOBIERAJSKI et al, 2006;BASTOS et al, 2006).…”

Produção e amplitude de colheita de cultivares de nogueira-macadâmia em Itapira, São Paulo

“…No Havaí, foram lança-dos os cultivares de nogueira-macadâmia da série HAES, pelo Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station, como 'Pahala' (HAES 788), 'Kau' (HAES 344), 'Keauhou' (HAES 246), 'Mauka' (HAES 741), 'Ikaika' (HAES 333), 'Kakea' (HAES 508), 'Keaau' (HAES 660), 'Makai' (HAES 800), 'Keauhou' (HAES 224), dentre outras de menor importância comercial (Peace et al, 2005).…”