Assessment of the legitimacy of cocoa tree hybrids (Theobroma cacao L.) resulting from simple crosses using SNPs markers in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Abstract The legitimacy of 13 hybrid families resulting from crosses by manual pollination technic was studied using SNPs markers. The aim of this study was to ensure the conformity of progenies resulting from simple crosses. Fifty-one (51) individuals (39 descendants and 12 parent clones) were analyzed using 84 SNPs markers. The results revealed non-significant genetic differentiation between parents and progenies (p = 0.323). High allelic richness was also revealed, with the average number of alleles per locus ranging from 1.57 to 1.92, for an average of 1.77 in offspring and 2 in parents. Thus, 1% of the total variance was attributed to inter-population variance and 99% to intra-population variance. Low genetic differentiation (FST < 0.05) and genetic distances (0.03 < D < 0.09) were observed between hybrid families F2, F8, F10, F11, F12, F13 and F14 and their respective parents. These results confirm the legitimacy of the hybrids created and suggest that the manual pollination work carried out on CNRA sites is reliable for faithfully reproducing hybrid material knowing the parents involved.