RFLP STUDY OF GENETIC DIVERSITY OF THEOBROMA-CACAO

The variability of the cocoa (Theobroma cacao) genomes was investigate d. A total of 203 cocoa clones was surveyed for restriction fragment l ength polymorphism (RFLP) using nuclear cDNA probes, nuclear rDNA prob es and mitochondrial probes. A high level of polymorphism has been fou nd. This study points out a structuring of the species that fits with the distinction between Criollo and Forastero populations. Nuclear and mitochondrial results combined allow to propose new hypotheses on the evolution and origin of the different cocoa populations.