PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 5:31 PM by Luigi

Two papers on breadfruit

News from Diane Ragone of two recent papers on breadfruit. Here are the details.

Complex origins of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae): implications for human migrations in Oceania.
Nyree J. C. Zerega, Diane Ragone and Timothy J. Motley
American Journal of Botany. 2004. 91: 760-766.

ABSTRACT: Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae), a traditional starch crop in Oceania, has enjoyed legendary status ever since its rolein the infamous mutiny aboard the H.M.S. Bounty in 1789, yet its origins remain unclear. Breadfruit's closest relatives are A. camansi and A. mariannensis. DNA fingerprinting data (AFLP, amplified fragment length polymorphisms) from over 200 breadfruit cultivars, 30 A. camansi, and 24 A. mariannensis individuals were used to investigate the relationships among these species. Multivariate analyses and the identification of species-specific AFLP markers indicate at least two origins of readfruit. Most Melanesian and Polynesian cultivars appear to have arisen over generations of vegetative propagation and selection from A. camansi. In contrast, most Micronesian breadfruit cultivars appear to be the result of hybridization between A. camansi-derived breadfruit and A. mariannensis. Because breadfruit depends on humans for dispersal, the data were compared to theories on the human colonization of Oceania. The results agree with the well-supported theory that humans settled Polynesia via Melanesia. Additionally, a long-distance migration from eastern Melanesia into Micronesia is supported.

Nomenclature of breadfruit cultivars in Samoa: Saliency, ambiguity and mononomiality
Diane Ragone, Gaugau Tavana, Joan M. Stevens, Patricia Ann Stewart, Rebekka Stone, Paul Matthew Cox and Paul Alan Cox
Journal of Ethnobiology. 2004. 24(1): 33-49.

ABSTRACT: Breadfruit is an important subsistence crop in the Samoan archipelago where numerous cultivars are grown and used. The diversity of breadfruit in Samoa is indicative of its antiquity and value to this society. The purpose of our study was to document and compare knowledge of breadfruit names by Samoans of a wide range of ages in both rural villages and towns and to test the relationship between saliency and binomiality. A total of 354 people were interviewed and 46 cultivar names were recorded. A binomial is used to name a breadfruit - the generic term 'ulu is given first and a second word is added to describe that particular cultivar - when the second word used alone could refer to something other than breadfruit. A monomial is used only when this term does not refer to anything else or has no other meaning. There was no significant relationship between saliency and binomiality of breadfruit names and a significant relationship between binomiality and linguistic ambiguity. A useful outcome of this study was defining 60 Samoans as "experts" using statistical measures that we will use in continuing ethnobotanical studies in Oceania and may have broader application.



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Box 14 Nuku'alofa Tonga Tel: (676) 23038 Fax: (676) 24271 Email: thaangana@hotmail.com Mr Frazer Bule Lehi Head of Research Department of Agriculture & Rural Development Private Mail Bag 040 Port Vila Vanuatu Tel: (678) 22525 Fax: (678) 25265 Email: flehi@hotmail.com Other links Other CROP agencies Forum Secretariat University of the South Pacific SPREP Pacific biodiversity Biodiversity hotspots Breadfruit Institute Hawaiian native plants Intellectual property rights Nature Conservancy PBIF PestNet SIDS WWF South Pacific Program Other Pacific organizations Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific Micronesian Seminar Te Puna web directory Pacific news Cafe Pacific CocoNET Wireless Island Directory Pacific Islands News Pacific Islands Report Pacific Islands Travel Pacific Time South Pacific travel Time Pacific Interested in GIS? DIVA-GIS	Friday, August 20, 2004 Posted 5:31 PM by Luigi Two papers on breadfruit News from Diane Ragone of two recent papers on breadfruit. Here are the details. Complex origins of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae): implications for human migrations in Oceania. Nyree J. C. Zerega, Diane Ragone and Timothy J. Motley American Journal of Botany. 2004. 91: 760-766. ABSTRACT: Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae), a traditional starch crop in Oceania, has enjoyed legendary status ever since its rolein the infamous mutiny aboard the H.M.S. Bounty in 1789, yet its origins remain unclear. Breadfruit's closest relatives are A. camansi and A. mariannensis. DNA fingerprinting data (AFLP, amplified fragment length polymorphisms) from over 200 breadfruit cultivars, 30 A. camansi, and 24 A. mariannensis individuals were used to investigate the relationships among these species. Multivariate analyses and the identification of species-specific AFLP markers indicate at least two origins of readfruit. Most Melanesian and Polynesian cultivars appear to have arisen over generations of vegetative propagation and selection from A. camansi. In contrast, most Micronesian breadfruit cultivars appear to be the result of hybridization between A. camansi-derived breadfruit and A. mariannensis. Because breadfruit depends on humans for dispersal, the data were compared to theories on the human colonization of Oceania. The results agree with the well-supported theory that humans settled Polynesia via Melanesia. Additionally, a long-distance migration from eastern Melanesia into Micronesia is supported. Nomenclature of breadfruit cultivars in Samoa: Saliency, ambiguity and mononomiality Diane Ragone, Gaugau Tavana, Joan M. Stevens, Patricia Ann Stewart, Rebekka Stone, Paul Matthew Cox and Paul Alan Cox Journal of Ethnobiology. 2004. 24(1): 33-49. ABSTRACT: Breadfruit is an important subsistence crop in the Samoan archipelago where numerous cultivars are grown and used. The diversity of breadfruit in Samoa is indicative of its antiquity and value to this society. The purpose of our study was to document and compare knowledge of breadfruit names by Samoans of a wide range of ages in both rural villages and towns and to test the relationship between saliency and binomiality. A total of 354 people were interviewed and 46 cultivar names were recorded. A binomial is used to name a breadfruit - the generic term 'ulu is given first and a second word is added to describe that particular cultivar - when the second word used alone could refer to something other than breadfruit. A monomial is used only when this term does not refer to anything else or has no other meaning. There was no significant relationship between saliency and binomiality of breadfruit names and a significant relationship between binomiality and linguistic ambiguity. A useful outcome of this study was defining 60 Samoans as "experts" using statistical measures that we will use in continuing ethnobotanical studies in Oceania and may have broader application. * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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