Genetic Diversity of the Wild Banana Musa acuminata Colla in Malaysia as Evidenced by AFLP

Musa acuminata Colla (Musaceae), the wild progenitor of thecultivated banana, is highly variable in Malaysia and presentsseveral unresolved nomenclatural problems. AFLP was employedto distinguish among three subspecies of Musa acuminata(subsp.truncata and subsp. malaccensis from peninsular Malaysia andsubsp. microcarpa from Borneo) and to examine whether subsp.truncata is a distinct taxon. Eight primer combinations revealedmolecular markers specific for each of the three taxa. UPGMAcluster analysis showed the three taxa were distinct. Subspeciesmalaccensis which is endemic in peninsular Malaysia and subsp.microcarpa which is endemic in Borneo were found to be moresimilar to each other in their DNA patterns than they are tosubsp. truncata, which is endemic to peninsular Malaysia. Sincesubsp. truncata is genetically separate from subsp. malaccensisand subsp.microcarpa , it cannot be regarded as synonymous witheither of these subspecies. This paper sheds light on the nomenclatureof the three subspecies of Musa acuminata. Copyright 2001 Annalsof Botany Company Musa acuminata Colla, truncata, malaccensis, microcarpa, Musaceae, wild banana, genetic diversity, AFLP, DNA fingerprinting