Genetic Variation in Cordia africana Lam. (Boraginacea) in Ethiopia

Cordia africana Lam. is a multipurpose tree species that belongs to the Boraginaceae and is found widely distributed in tropical Africa. C. africana is adapted to sufficiently warm areas with an altitude ranging from 900 to 2400 m a. s. l. and a rainfall range of 700 to 2000 mm per year. In Ethiopia, it grows in a wide range of agro-ecological zones, though its habitats are mainly montane forest ecosystems. The species serves as timber, coffee-shade tree, agro-forestry crop, honey bee plant and as a draught season food. Deforestation coupled with the extensive exploitation of the species for timber production has led to its depletion, and the Ethiopian government has banned its cutting from natural forests though the problem remains unabated. Research on genetic variation in C. africana has been initiated in order to find out whether the populations of the species in Ethiopia show distinct structures with respect to geographical locations, if forest fragmentation has affected the genetic structure of the species, and whether there are genetic markers that differentiate high quality timber trees from the rest of the population. Leaves have been collected from a total of 25 populations and 800 individuals, which represent different geographical locations, various ecosystems as well as contrasting phenotypes. Molecular techniques based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are used to observe variation at maternally inherited cpDNA and at anonymous, dominant AFLPs. The expected outputs of the research are a characterization of the population structure and the genetic variation of the species in Ethiopia. The findings will assist the forest conservation and tree improvement efforts of the country.

Members Derero, Abene (Mitarbeiter)
Finkeldey, Reiner (Leiter)
Gailing, Oliver (Mitarbeiter)

Derero, A., Gailing, O. & R. Finkeldey. 2011. Maintenance of genetic diversity in Cordia africana Lam., a declining forest tree species in Ethiopia. Tree Genetics and Genomes 7: 1-9.