Application of microsatellite markers for hybrid verification and genetic analysis of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)

The legitimacy of parents and progenies used in crop improvement programmes is vital for any meaningful progress in selection. While acknowledging the shortcomings of controlled pollination in oil palm breeding and commercial seed production, the legitimacy of 20 oil palm progenies from the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) breeding programme was determined using 16 fluorescently-labeled microsatellite markers. The genotyping of parents and progenies was conducted by capillary electrophoresis using the ABI 3730 DNA Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, USA). Results revealed a complementary expression of the parents’ alleles in 18 out of the 20 individual progenies screened, confirming their hybridity and genetic identity. The two illegitimate progenies detected could be attributed to pollination and planting errors, respectively. A subset of three sufficiently informative loci (sMg00016, sMg00179 and sMo00102) was identified for routine quality control genotyping. The detection of illegitimate progenies provided ample evidence to substantiate the importance of assessing hybrid fidelity in breeding programmes. Furthermore, the usefulness of microsatellite markers as a reliable technique for routine assessment and unambiguous identification of oil palm crosses was established. The implications of microsatellite- based hybrid identification in oil palm varietal improvement programmes have been adequately discussed. Key words: Contamination, Genetic identity, Illegitimacy, NIFOR, Parent-Progeny relationships, seed productio