Genetic variation in the threatened medicinal tree Prunus africana in Cameroon and Kenya: Implications for current management and evolutionary history

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dc.contributor.author Muluvi, Geoffrey M.
dc.contributor.author Muchugi, A.
dc.contributor.author Lengkeek, A. G.
dc.contributor.author Kadu, Caroline A. C.
dc.contributor.author Njagi, E. N. M.
dc.contributor.author Dawson, I. K.
dc.date.accessioned 2014-11-26T05:50:39Z
dc.date.available 2014-11-26T05:50:39Z
dc.date.issued 2006
dc.identifier.citation South African Journal of Botany Volume 72, Issue 4, November 2006, Pages 498–506 en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0254629906001098
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/157
dc.description doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2006.01.003 en_US
dc.description.abstract Listed as vulnerable under Appendix II of CITES, populations of the commercially valuable African highland medicinal tree Prunus africana are threatened by over-exploitation in a number of countries. Here, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to assess patterns of genetic variation in the species in Cameroon and Kenya, two countries where exploitation has been particularly high and where information on genetic structure is a crucial input for developing the national management plans that are a requirement of CITES listing. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), which employed 39 RAPD markers, indicated that a significantly greater proportion of total country variation partitioned among eight stands in Kenya than among nine stands in Cameroon (values of 55% and 24%, respectively), with important implications for conservation strategies. Kenyan stands appear to represent a particularly diverse resource for conservation, evaluation and domestication, although possible human movement of germplasm during cultivation raises integrity concerns. Data also shed light on the evolutionary history of P. africana stands. A genetic disjunction between western and central Kenyan populations was observed, with individuals from western Kenya more similar to geographically distant stands from Cameroon (> 2000 km) than to central Kenya (< 400 km). In the context of present-day floristic distributions and the historical data available, this disjunction appears more consistent with genetic exchange between east and west African highlands via migration (associated with climate change) than via long distance seed dispersal. Data suggested that conservation strategies for P. africana should place relatively more emphasis than currently on the status of surrounding phytochoria. en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Elsevier en_US
dc.subject African medicinal tree en_US
dc.subject Floral history en_US
dc.subject National genetic management strategies en_US
dc.subject Phytochoria en_US
dc.subject RAPD en_US
dc.title Genetic variation in the threatened medicinal tree Prunus africana in Cameroon and Kenya: Implications for current management and evolutionary history en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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