Genetic and morphological diversity in populations of Annona senegalensis Pers. occurring in Western (Benin) and Southern (Mozambique) Africa

Janine Conforte Fifonssi Donhouedé; Isabel Marques; Kolawolé Valère Salako; Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo; Natasha Ribeiro; Ana If Ribeiro-Barros

doi:10.7717/peerj.15767

Genetic and morphological diversity in populations of Annona senegalensis Pers. occurring in Western (Benin) and Southern (Mozambique) Africa

PeerJ. 2023 Aug 8:11:e15767. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15767. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Janine Conforte Fifonssi Donhouedé^{1

2

3}, Isabel Marques⁴, Kolawolé Valère Salako³, Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo^{1

3}, Natasha Ribeiro², Ana If Ribeiro-Barros⁴

Affiliations

¹ Laboratoire d'Écologie Appliquée, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin.
² Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique.
³ Laboratoire de Biomathématiques et d'Estimations Forestières, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Bénin.
⁴ Forest Research Center (CEF), School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.

Abstract

Background: Understanding morpho-genetic diversity and differentiation of species with relatively large distributions is crucial for the conservation and sustainable management of their genetic resources. The present study focused on Annona senegalensis Pers., an important multipurpose wild plant, distributed exclusively in natural ecosystems but facing several threats. The study assessed the genetic and morphological diversity, structure, and differentiation of the species in populations from Western (Benin) and Southern (Mozambique) Africa. The material was evaluated to ascertain the environmental (climatic) determinants of the variation within this species.

Methods: Four sub-populations comprised of 154 individuals were phenotyped based on nineteen plant, fruit, and leaf morphological traits and further genotyped using ten polymorphic nuclear microsatellite (nSSR) markers.

Results: The results indicated strong differences in plant, fruit, and leaf morphological traits between Western and Southern populations. Furthermore, the studied populations were characterized by high genetic diversity, with an average genetic diversity index of 1.02. Western populations showed higher heterozygosity values (0.61-0.71) than Southern populations (0.41-0.49). Western and Southern populations were clearly differentiated into two different genetic groups, with further genetic subdivisions reflecting four sub-populations. Genetic variation between regions (populations) was higher (69.1%) than among (21.3%) and within (9.6%) sub-populations. Four distinct morphological clusters were obtained, which were strongly associated with the four genetic groups representing each sub-population. Climate, mainly precipitation and temperature indexes, explained the relatively higher variation found in morphological traits from Western (40.47%) in relation to Southern (27.98%) populations. Our study suggests that both environmental and genetic dynamics play an important role in the development of morphological variation in A. senegalensis.

Keywords: Annona senegalensis; Bioclimatic variables; Environment; Genetic diversity; Morphological diversity; Tropical plants.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Annona* / genetics
Benin
Ecosystem
Genetic Variation* / genetics
Humans
Mozambique

Grants and funding

Janine Conforte Fifonssi Donhouedé was supported by the Regional Academic Exchange for Enhanced Skills in Fragile Ecosystems Management in Africa (REFORM AFRICA). The research work was supported by The Fund for Applied and Multisectoral Research (FIAM) from the Italian Cooperation and Eduardo Mondlane University and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, through the contribution to the research unit UIDB/00239/2020 (CEF) and the Scientific Employment Stimulus - Individual Call (CEEC Individual) - 2021.01107. CEECIND/CP1689/CT0001 (Isabel Marques). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.