Theor Appl Genet (1994) 89:713-718 9Springer-Verlag 1994 F. H. Shah 9 O. Rashid 9 A. J. Simons 9 A. Dunsdon The utility of RAPD markers for the determination of genetic variation in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) Received: 6 October 1993 / Accepted: 18 April 1994 Abstract The genetic variation among different acces- sions of oil-palm germplasm collected from Africa was es- timated using random primers and the polymerase chain reaction. The present study revealed high levels of genetic variation in these accessions. Electrophoresis of the am- plification products indicated that nine out of 20 primers were able to generate polymorphic products ranging in length from 0.2 kb to 2.3 kb. No individual palm or popu- lation-specific products were observed. Greatest diversity was seen in Zaire population 5 and the least in Zaire pop- ulation 2. Key words Oil palm germplasm - RAPD Genetic diversity Introduction The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a major plantation crop throughout the humid and subhumid tropics. In its centre of origin in West Africa, however, it occurs in wild groves which are harvested for local use but have also provided exports since the early 1800s. The present distribution of oil palm extends from 16~ in Senegal to 15~ in Angola although it generally follows a 20 ~ latitudinal band from 10~ to 10~ Populations in East Africa, however, are be- lieved to be derived from plants taken there by Arab slave- traders. Hartley (1977) distinguishes between wild, semi- wild and domesticated groves in west Africa, where semi- Communicated by J. W. Snape F. H. Shah (~) 9 O. Rashid Genetics Department, National University of Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia A. Dunsdon 9 A. J. Simons Oxford Forestry Institute, Department of Plant Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, England wild, groves refer to ones which owe their existence to the disturbance of the habitat by man. Given the long history of habitat disturbance and use of oil palm by man, he con- siders it impossible to determine the difference between many wild and semi-wild groves. In some areas of the Congo, the semi-wild groves have been replaced as high forest has been re-established, indicating that mans distur- bance is important in the maintenance of many groves. Oil palm was grown outside Africa as early as 1730, yet its greatest appreciation as an exotic arose when four palms (dura variety) were sent to Indonesia in 1848 (Purseglove 1988). These four palms were for many years to form the basis of the plantation industry in Southeast Asia. The suc- cess of the Southeast Asian plantations is shown by the superior quality and volume of production compared to West Africa (Purseglove 1988). Deliberate breeding through mass selection began in In- donesia in the 1920s. The selections, however, were all de- scended from the four palms, introduced to Java in 1848, of the largely-inferior variety dura. This population of palms was particularly uniform and the original parents were themselves believed to have been derived from palms in Mauritius where it is not native (Hartley 1977). The ex- istence of little variation in bunch characters in the Indo- nesian landrace, in contrast to Africa where large variation was evident, led to subsequent introductions of dura, and the superior variety tenera, from Africa (Hartley 1977). The discovery that tenera was a hybrid between dura and pisifera varieties led to further improvements through con- trolled pollinations. Large gains in fruit characters have been achieved although many are strongly influenced by environment (HartleY 1977). In West Africa, plantation breeding concentrated on the tenera variety although there was some selection and deliberate planting of desired types in forest clearings (Hartley 1977). Concerns over the narrow breadth of the genetic base of oil palm in Malaysia led the Palm Oil Research Insti- tute of Malaysia (PORIM) to collect a number of new ac- cessions from Africa. The collections spanned Nigeria, Cameroun, Zaire and Tanzania (Rajanaidu 1987). The mor- phological variation in a number of quantitative traits is