Microsatellite fingerprinting and analysis of intra-population divergence in morphotaxonomic traits in a large Musa (AAB genome) germplasm

Plantain ( Musa spp. AAB genome) is a major staple with an incredibly enormous potential for domestic and global trade that can serve as a vital source of income for many developing countries. The fruits are extraordinarily significant, providing an important and cheap source of dietary energy, vitamins, and several essential minerals to millions of consumers within the humid and sub-humid tropics. As molecular characterization is important for sustainable exploitation of crops, the extent of genetic and agro-morphological differentiation in a large Musa population of 109 accessions was evaluated using 10 microsatellite (SSR) markers and 14 morphotaxonomic descriptors, as a basis for selection of high yielding varieties. Measurement of DNA diversity delineated the plantains into 2 major groups and 8 distinct clusters, each with several sub-clusters. There was equally a very wide diversity detected in morphotaxonomic traits including pseudostem girth, number of bunches per plant, number of hands per bunch, number of fruits per bunch, number of fruits per hand, bunch weight, length of plant cycle, and flowering to harvest interval, which varied significantly (p