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A Study of Variation in Chicozapote (Manilkara zapota)
OverviewChicozapote, Manilkara zapota, is an evergreen tropical tree that is native to southeastern Mexico and Central America. It has been cultivated for its fruit since prehistoric times, and has also been used for timber, medicine, and its latex sap (chicle). The tree was introduced to the rest of the tropics by Spanish explorers, and is now a major crop in India and many countries in Southeast Asia, as well as Mexico and Guatemala.This thesis is presented as two journal articles. The first chapter of this thesis reviews the present knowledge of chicozapote, including the history, taxonomy, botany, and agricultural use of this increasingly important fruit crop. Recommendations are made for further study and exploitation of chicozapote. The second chapter of this thesis presents an experiment designed to test the genetic variation of different populations of chicozapote. In the Yucatan region of Mexico, populations of chicozapote are found in tropical forests, as well as in periodically inundated swamps. There is an extremely significant amount of morphological variation between these populations. A study was designed to see if the morphological variation is correlated with any genetic variation. By using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), variation across four study populations was assayed.   
For questions or comments, please contact Hoyt Heaton at hoyt@xmission.com Last modified on: 30 July 1997   |