ANALYSIS OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AND RELATIONSHIPS IN EAST AFRICAN 'APPLE BANANA' (AAB GENOME) AND 'MURARU' (AA GENOME) DESSERT BANANAS USING MICROSATELLITE MARKERS

Using eight nuclear and four chloroplast microsatellite markers, a total of 133 banana (Musa spp.) accessions from East Africa, Bioversity International and Polynesia were characterized at the University of Hawaii. The objectives of the study were to determine variation patterns existing in the Musa AA and AAB genomes of East Africa and to determine the usefulness of microsatellites markers in differentiating accessions within the two Musa genome groups. Group average clustering produced major clusters corresponding to the genome composition of AAA, AAA-EA, AAB (plantains), AAB (dessert bananas), AA and AB. At least four distinct subclusters of ‘Apple Banana’ (AAB genome) were observed, namely ‘Mysore’ (AAB genome), ‘Sukari Ndizi’ (AAB geome), ‘Prata’ (AAB genome) and ‘Silk’ (AAB genome). The East African ‘Muraru’ (AA genome) dessert bananas formed a distinct cluster with a high similarity to AAA dessert bananas, suggesting the possibility of shared ancestry between them.