Present spatial diversity patterns of Theobroma cacao L. in the neotropics reflect genetic differentiation in pleistocene refugia followed by human-influenced dispersal.

Abstract excerpt

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is indigenous to the Amazon basin, but is generally believed to have been domesticated in Mesoamerica for the production of chocolate beverage. However, cacao's distribution of genetic diversity in South America is also likely to reflect pre-Columbian human influences that were superimposed on natural processes of genetic differentiation. Here we present the results of a spatial...

Topics

• Brazil
• Cacao
• Cluster Analysis
• Colombia
• Genetic Speciation
• Genetic Variation
• Humans
• Peru
• South America