Vol. 39 No. 1 (2025)
Articles

Association analysis of intragenic molecular markers related to fiber quality and tensile strength of abaca (Musa textilis Nee)

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  • M.R.R. Mendoza,
  • A.C. Laurena,
  • M.G.Q. Diaz,
  • E.T. Ocampo,
  • T.P. Laude,
  • A.G. Lalusin
M.R.R. Mendoza
Institute of Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture and Food Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños, 4031 Laguna, Philippines.
A.C. Laurena
Institute of Crop Science, College of Agriculture and Food Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños, 4031 Laguna, Philippines.
M.G.Q. Diaz
Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños, 4031 Laguna, Philippines.
E.T. Ocampo
Institute of Crop Science, College of Agriculture and Food Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños, 4031 Laguna, Philippines.
T.P. Laude
Institute of Crop Science, College of Agriculture and Food Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños, 4031 Laguna, Philippines.
A.G. Lalusin
Institute of Crop Science, College of Agriculture and Food Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños, 4031 Laguna, Philippines.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/ahsc-16774
Categories

Published 2025-05-28

Keywords

  • Genome Association and Prediction Integrated Tool (GAPIT),
  • intragenic molecular markers,
  • Hierfstat,
  • Musa textilis Nee,
  • intragenic molecular markers,
  • population structure,
  • Musa textilis Nee,
  • population structure
    • ...More
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How to Cite

Mendoza, M. R., Laurena, A., Diaz, M. G., Ocampo, E. T., Laude , T., & Lalusin, A. (2025). Association analysis of intragenic molecular markers related to fiber quality and tensile strength of abaca (Musa textilis Nee). Advances in Horticultural Science, 39(1), 55–67. https://doi.org/10.36253/ahsc-16774

Copyright (c) 2025 Ms. Mariecris Rizalyn R. Mendoza, Dr. Antonio C. Laurena, Dr. Maria Genaleen Q. Diaz, Dr. Eureka Teresa Ocampo, Dr. Tonette P. Laude, Dr. Antonio G. Lalusin

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Abaca are leaf-fiber plants found predominantly in the Philippines. Our country holds most of the Manila hemp market, but the unknown genetic architecture of the fiber hinders the crop’s improvement. We developed intragenic molecular markers from genes related to fiber development and linked them to abaca fiber quality, with the goal of increasing precision of breeding. Pearson’s correlation package of the R programming software revealed a high positive relationship between the pseudostem’s top and middle girth (r=0.91), while a low negative correlation between the percent fiber percent fiber strain and the number of suckers (r= -0.42). The analysis also showed that the ultimate tensile strength was highly correlated with percent fiber percent fiber strain (r=0.33) and dry weight (r=0.34). Three subpopulations were determined using the STRUCTURE software, while Hierfstat computed an average 0.0648 Fst value, indicating moderate genetic diversity. Eight significant marker-trait associations (p-value <0.005) were identified with positive effects and >0.6% phenotypic variance explained (PVE). Eight markers from the COBRA-like protein, expansin, cellulose synthase, and auxin gene families were identified as linked to fiber quality and tensile strength. Our study identified nine abaca accessions with the trait of interest and the candidate genes. The significant molecular markers will be used to identify the hybrids with good fiber quality.

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