Tree-to-tree variation in stearic and oleic acid content in seed fat from Allanblackia floribunda from wild stands: Potential for tree breeding Alain R. Atangana a,⇑,1 , Erik van der Vlis b , Damase P. Khasa a , Dennis van Houten b , Jean Beaulieu c , Harrie Hendrickx b a Center for Forest Research (CEF), Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics, Pavillon Marchand, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4 b Unilever Research and Development Vlaardingen, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, 3133 AT, PO Box 114, 3130 AC Vlaardingen, The Netherlands c Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, 1055, rue du P.E.P.S., PO Box 10380, Stn. Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada G1V 4C7 article info Article history: Received 4 March 2008 Received in revised form 16 November 2010 Accepted 5 December 2010 Available online 13 December 2010 Keywords: Allanblackia floribunda Breeding Oleic acid Seed fat Stearic acid Variation abstract We determined whether Allanblackia floribunda, a forest tree species that is valued for the fat extracted from its seeds, could be genetically improved for fruit/seed production by sampling 17–40 fruits from each of 70 trees that were distributed among four sites in wild stands. Fat was extracted from the seeds, and stearic and oleic acid content of the fat was estimated. Highly significant (P < 0.0001) between- and within-tree variation characterised fruits and seed characters. Between-site phenotypic variation was not significant. Stearic and oleic acid percentages in seed fat ranged from 44.16% to 66.12%, and from 24.95% to 48.42% per tree sample, respectively. Moderate repeatabilities were identified in fruit characters and mean seed mass. Moderate positive relationships were found between stearic and oleic acid percentages. Seed fat profiles were not found to vary with other fruit characters. Twenty ‘‘plus trees’’ were selected for breeding. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Forest tree breeding activities, which aim at producing a specially desired product (Zobel & Talbert, 1991), rely heavily on intraspecific variation in characters of importance for improvement. The reason is that genetic progress is partly determined by the amount of pheno- typic variation existing in the species to be improved, because for a given selection intensity, the larger the phenotypic variation and the larger the selection differential to the population average (Zobel & Talbert, 1991). Therefore, tree breeding programs usually start with the determination of the amount and pattern of variability in wild stands using a nested sampling procedure (Zobel & Talbert, 1991). Although forest trees provide communities with various prod- ucts, wood has traditionally been the product of interest that has been targeted in tree improvement programs (Zobel & van Buijte- nen, 1989). However, valuable non-timber products have also been the object of genetic improvement, including sap (e.g., Acer saccha- rum, Larochelle, Forget, Rainville, & Bousquet, 1998), resins (e.g., Jeffrey pine [Pinus jeffreyi], Savage, Hamilton, & Croteau, 1996), gums (e.g., Acacia longifolia, Baldwin, Quah, & Menzies, 1998), fruits (e.g., Irvingia gabonensis, Leakey, Fondoun, Atangana, & Tchoundjeu, 2000; Leakey, Tchoundjeu, Schreckenberg, Shackleton, & Shackl- eton, 2006) and nuts (e.g., Ricinodendron heudelotii, Ngo Mpeck, Asaah, Tchoundjeu, & Atangana, 2003; Tchoundjeu et al., 2006), but they have not been valued as much as wood for timber produc- tion and fibre for pulp and paper. Forest tree breeding for fruit and seed production is being increasingly implemented in the humid tropics of Africa as part of the domestication of high-value indigenous multi-purpose trees (Leakey & Simons, 1998; Leakey et al., 2006; Tchoundjeu et al., 2006). Tree domestication which can be simply defined as the selec- tion and management of trees to increase their benefits to human- kinds is however beyond the scope of the present study. Indeed, tree domestication for non-timber forest products also known as Agroforestry Tree Products (Leakey et al., 2006) is executed in the humid tropics of Africa as a farmer-driven and market-led process, which matches the intra-specific diversity of locally important trees to the needs of subsistence farmers, product markets and agricul- tural environments (Simons & Leakey, 2004). The present article which reports phenotypic variation in wild stands and forest tree selection for breeding has a breeding focus only. Candidate species that have targeted for genetic improvement include Allanblackia floribunda Oliver, commonly known as 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.12.023 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 418 656 7777; fax: +1 418 656 7493. E-mail addresses: alain-rene.atangana.1@ulaval.ca, aatangan@ualberta.ca (A.R. Atangana). 1 Present address: Department of Renewable Resources, 3-38 C Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E3. Food Chemistry 126 (2011) 1579–1585 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem