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The history of introduction of the African baobab (Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae: Bombacoideae) in the Indian subcontinent.

ABSTRACT: To investigate the pathways of introduction of the African baobab, Adansonia digitata, to the Indian subcontinent, we examined 10 microsatellite loci in individuals from Africa, India, the Mascarenes and Malaysia, and matched this with historical evidence of human interactions between source and destination regions. Genetic analysis showed broad congruence of African clusters with biogeographic regions except along the Zambezi (Mozambique) and Kilwa (Tanzania), where populations included a mixture of individuals assigned to at least two different clusters. Individuals from West Africa, the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia shared a cluster. Baobabs from western and central India clustered separately from Africa. Genetic diversity was lower in populations from the Indian subcontinent than in African populations, but the former contained private alleles. Phylogenetic analysis showed Indian populations were closest to those from the Mombasa-Dar es Salaam coast. The genetic results provide evidence of multiple introductions of African baobabs to the Indian subcontinent over a longer time period than previously assumed. Individuals belonging to different genetic clusters in Zambezi and Kilwa may reflect the history of trafficking captives from inland areas to supply the slave trade between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Baobabs in the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia indicate introduction from West Africa through eighteenth and nineteenth century European colonial networks.

SUBMITTER: Bell KL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4593694 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The history of introduction of the African baobab (Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae: Bombacoideae) in the Indian subcontinent.

Bell Karen L KL Rangan Haripriya H Kull Christian A CA Murphy Daniel J DJ

Royal Society open science 20150909 9

To investigate the pathways of introduction of the African baobab, Adansonia digitata, to the Indian subcontinent, we examined 10 microsatellite loci in individuals from Africa, India, the Mascarenes and Malaysia, and matched this with historical evidence of human interactions between source and destination regions. Genetic analysis showed broad congruence of African clusters with biogeographic regions except along the Zambezi (Mozambique) and Kilwa (Tanzania), where populations included a mixtu ...[more]

PMID: 26473060

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Project description:Background and aimsAdansonia comprises nine species, six of which are endemic to Madagascar. Genetic relationships between the Malagasy species remain unresolved due to conflicting results between nuclear and plastid DNA variation. Morphologically intermediate individuals between distinct species have been identified, indicative of interspecific hybridization. In this paper, microsatellite data are used to identify potential cases of hybridization and to provide insights into the evolutionary history of the genus on Madagascar.MethodsEleven microsatellites amplified with new primers developed for Adansonia rubrostipa were used to analyse 672 individuals collected at 27 sites for the six Malagasy species and morphologically intermediate individuals. Rates of individual admixture were examined using three Bayesian clustering programs, STRUCTURE, BAPS and NewHybrids, with no a priori species assignment.Key resultsPopulation differentiation was coherent, with recognized species boundaries. In the four Malagasy species of section Longitubae, 8·0, 9·0 and 9·5 % of individuals with mixed genotypes were identified by BAPS, NewHybrids and STRUCTURE, respectively. At sites with sympatric populations of A. rubrostipa and A. za, NewHybrids indicated these individuals to be F2 and, predominantly, backcrosses with both parental species. In northern Madagascar, two populations of trees combining A. za and A. perrieri morphology and microsatellite alleles were identified in the current absence of the parental species.ConclusionsThe clear genetic differentiation observed between the six species may reflect their adaptation to different assortments of climate regimes and habitats during the colonization of the island. Microsatellite variation reveals that hybridization probably occurred in secondary contact between species of section Longitubae. This type of hybridization may also have been involved in the differentiation of a local new stabilized entity showing specific microsatellite alleles and morphological characters, suggesting a potential role of hybridization in the recent history of diversification on Madagascar.

Project description:Baobab (Adansonia digitata L) is a large tree species growing in semiarid and arid lowlands of Ethiopia and other places. The plant is valued by natives for its contributions as a cash crop and livelihood tree. Previous studies using samples from different countries have documented their phytochemical profiles and nutritional and health benefits. This study explored the phytochemical constituents and biological activities of fruit pulp extracts of baobab collected from Tekeze Valley, Tigrai, Ethiopia. To this end, qualitative phytochemical screening tests, quantitative phytochemical analyses, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis were carried out using aqueous extract. Analyses of antioxidant activities were also conducted with aqueous- and methanol-extracts using of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO), and hydroxyl (OH) radical scavenging activity assays. The qualitative screening tests showed the presence of flavonoids, phenols, saponins, tannins, and terpenoids. Quantitative analyses of these phytochemicals at 25, 50, and 100 g/mL aqueous extract resulted in 0.0252 to 0.1000% yields. Yields of flavonoids, phenols, and saponins were higher at 50 g/mL extract, while that of tannins and terpenoids were higher at 100 g/mL. GC-MS analysis resulted in 15 predominant compounds including (1,2bis(trimethylsilyl)benzene (13.17%), 2-methyl-7-phenylindole (11.75%), 2-ethylacridine (10.11%), and benz[b]-1,4-oxazepine-4(5H)-thione,2,3-dihydro-2,8-dimethyl (10.11%). Aqueous and methanol extracts showed concentration-dependent antioxidant activities. In all the assays and concentrations, the antioxidant activities of both extracts were lower than that of the ascorbic acid standard. At equal extract concentrations (e.g., 100 and 250 μg/mL), methanol extract had higher antioxidant activities than aqueous extract. The findings can encourage future initiatives towards large-scale research for compiling a complete phytochemical profile of the fruit pulp of the Ethiopian baobab.

Dataset Information

The history of introduction of the African baobab (Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae: Bombacoideae) in the Indian subcontinent.

Publications

The history of introduction of the African baobab (Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae: Bombacoideae) in the Indian subcontinent.

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