GENETIC DIVERSITY IN COCOA REVEALED BY CDNA PROBES

The variability of the cocoa (Theobroma cacao) nuclear genome was inve stigated. A total of 203 cocoa clones was surveyed for restriction fra gment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) using four restriction endonuclease and 31 seed cDNA probes. A high level of polymorphism has been found. This study points to a structuring of the species that fits with the distinction between the Criollo and Forastero populations. These resul ts combined with previously obtained nuclear rDNA and mtDNA data allow us to propose new hypotheses on the origin and evolution of the diffe rent cocoa populations.