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Diversity in tree and fruit traits of Strychnos spinosa Lam. along a climatic gradient in Benin: a step towards domestication

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Abstract

Strychnos spinosa Lam. is an important wild edible fruit tree (WEFT) that is increasingly threatened due to anthropogenic pressure. Despite its remarkable socio-economic potential, commercial plantations for the species are rare. Characterization of the genetic diversity and potential of WEFT is a prerequisite for domestication and genetic improvement. This study assessed the morphological diversity and differentiation among populations of S. spinosa across a climatic gradient (Sudano-Guinean vs Sudanian zones) in Benin, West Africa. Morphological data were collected on 81 trees and 810 fruits of S. spinosa from 7 populations in the two climatic zones using nine phenotypic descriptors. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were used to describe and partition differences among trees and study populations. Results showed highly significant differences (P ≤ 0.001) among populations for all measured traits. The within-population variation accounted for the highest proportion (53–90%) of the total variation. Strong and positive correlations (r = 0.91–0.99; P < 0.05) were observed among trunk and fruit traits except for tree height and fruits’ seed weight suggesting that fruit traits (fruit mass, pulp mass, seed number, ratio) can be predicted from trunk traits (dbh). Cluster analysis distinguished three distinct groups of S. spinosa in Benin. Population from Bassila phytodistrict in the Sudano-Guinean zone showed superior phenotypic traits (e.g. tree diameter, fruit mass, and pulp mass) indicating a high potential for selection for domestication purposes. Our study revealed marked phenotypic diversity of S. spinosa in Benin and provides relevant information for domestication and harnessing of S. spinosa genetic resources.

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The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education, through the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land-use (WASCAL). Salako Kolawolé Valère acknowledges the support of the Wallonie-Bruxelles International Post-doctoral Fellowship for Excellence, Belgium (Fellowship # SUB/2019/443681). We are very grateful to the anonymous reviewers whose comments and remarks contributed to the improvement of the quality of the paper. Charles Nelimor’s help for data analysis and language correction is acknowledged. We are also grateful to Edmond Sacla for his help in data analysis. We are indebted to local farmers and field guides for their substantial contribution to this work especially during field work.

Funding

This research was financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through West African Science Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) Ph.D. scholarship and a research budget allowance.

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AHGG: funding acquisition, investigation, formal analysis, Writing—Original Draft. IR: methodology, resources, writing—review & editing. SV: methodology, formal analysis, writing—review & editing. HA: methodology, formal analysis, writing—review & editing. KMW: supervision, writing—review & editing. AAE: conceptualization, supervision, resources, writing—review & editing.

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Correspondence to Hospice Gérard Gracias Avakoudjo.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Avakoudjo, H.G.G., Idohou, R., Salako, K.V. et al. Diversity in tree and fruit traits of Strychnos spinosa Lam. along a climatic gradient in Benin: a step towards domestication. Genet Resour Crop Evol 68, 2423–2440 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-021-01140-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-021-01140-5

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