ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Conserv. Sci.
Sec. Plant Conservation
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2025.1576239
This article is part of the Research TopicConserving Plants in a Changing ClimateView all 4 articles
Development and Phenotypic Characterization of a Native Theobroma cacao L. Germplasm Bank from the Loreto Region of the Peruvian Amazon: Implications for Ex Situ Conservation and Genetic Improvement
Provisionally accepted
- 1National Institute of Agricultural Innovation (INIA), Lima, Peru
- 2Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (UNAP), Iquitos, Peru
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
The ex situ conservation and characterization of native Theobroma cacao L. genetic resources are critical for sustainable cacao production and breeding programs in the face of climate change and escalating disease pressures. This study details the establishment and phenotypic profiling of a novel germplasm bank comprising 140 native cacao accessions from the Loreto region of the Peruvian Amazon, which is a key center of cacao diversity. Collected across 15 river basins in eight provinces, the accessions were propagated using optimized grafting techniques, achieving 100% survival. Phenotypic evaluation of 402 plants using 36 standardized descriptors (25 quantitative and 11 qualitative) revealed exceptional morphological diversity. The quantitative traits exhibited substantial variation, particularly in fruit characteristics (CV = 15.82-50.82%) and pod index (CV = 144.82%). Multivariate analysis identified five distinct phenotypic groups with reproductive traits showing stronger differentiation than vegetative traits. Shannon-Weaver diversity indices highlighted high overall phenotypic diversity (H' ≈ 0.7), with seed longitudinal shape and fruit apex form displaying the highest trait-specific diversity (H' > 1.0). This comprehensive characterization establishes a foundation for future multiomics studies and advanced breeding strategies. The diversity of germplasm banks offers opportunities to leverage CRISPR-Cas-based editing and omics technologies to develop climate-resilient, high-yielding cacao varieties with superior quality traits.
Keywords: Cacao, Fruit, Genetic Variation, multivariate analysis, phenotype, plant breeding, seed bank
Received: 13 Feb 2025; Accepted: 29 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Imán, Samanamud, Ramirez, Cobos, Paredes and Castro. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Sixto A. Imán, National Institute of Agricultural Innovation (INIA), Lima, 1981, Peru
Angelo F. Samanamud, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (UNAP), Iquitos, Peru
Juan C. Castro, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (UNAP), Iquitos, Peru
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.