New Insights on the Center of Origin of Cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill., Annonaceae) Combining Molecular Tools and Geographic Information Systems

The cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.), belongs to the Annonaceae, the most diverse family within the early-divergent Magnoliales order in the Magnoliid clade. Together with other species of the genus such as sugar apple (A. squamosa), custard apple (A. reticulata), ilama (A. macroprophyllata) or soursop (A. muricata) the fruits of this crop were already used as a food source by pre-Columbian cultures in Central and South America. Currently, cherimoya is an underutilized fruit crop, although its excellent organoleptic qualities provide it with a clear niche for expansion in countries with subtropical climates. In order to study the distribution of diversity of this species along the Neotropics we combined simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and geographic information system (GIS) information. A selected group of 9 SSR loci were used to compare a total of 227 samples from Central America (Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala) and 1504 samples from South America (Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia). The results obtained from the study of different diversity indexes and population structure showed that a higher diversity was present in the samples collected in Central America, which could represent the putative primary center of origin for this species instead of the currently more accepted hypothesis of a South American origin. South America would represent a secondary center of diversity and, consequently, movement of cherimoya plant material from Central America to South America took place in pre-Columbian times. A similar approach can be used to study to map the areas of higher diversity in other subtropical and tropical fruit crops in order to optimize the conservation of the genetic resources in these species