Ponente
Descripción
Next generation sequencing technologies (NGS) provide new approaches in genetic and genomic studies through the identification of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, useful in genotyping individuals of any species. ddRADseq is an NGS, derived from restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) techniques, which excels for its low cost and flexibility. Genetic diversity studies in Theobroma cacao have been at the center of cacao breeding programs aimed to identify cacao plants with higher performance in productivity and cocoa quality. Three cacao plant groups have been recognized based on morphological data: Forastero, Criollo y Trinitario, while 10 genetic groups were identified using microsatellites DNA markers. In the present work we describe the use of a ddRADseq protocol for the identification of SNP markers in cacao, with a focus on its genetic diversity in Cuba. To this goal we built and sequenced three ddRADseq libraries containing 423 cacao individuals from both Cuban cacao germplasm collection and farms from Baracoa region in Guantánamo, eastern Cuba. Protocols details and data processing pipelines are presented. Preliminary results are shown and reveal the potentialities of this technique for SNPs identification and its use in cacao genetic studies including cacao clone classification.
