Key Findings
About the CO-Author
Iago Hale, Associate Professor of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems
Contact information: Iago.Hale@UNH.edu, 603-862-4653, Hale Lab website
This research first published in Frontiers in Plant Science.
Researchers: I. Hale, X. Ma, A. Melo, F. Padi, P. Hendrem, S. Kingan, S. Sullivan, S. Chen, J.M. Boffa, A. Muchugi, A. Danquah, M. Barnor, R. Jamnadass, Y. Van de Peer and A. Van Deynze.
The shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) is a slow-growing species that takes 25 years or more to come into production, making traditional breeding strategies unfeasible. However, with the newly mapped genome, researchers can assess the potential of a seedling as soon as it germinates and use genome-enabled tree selection to improve the genetics of the species. Researchers identified 38,505 coding genes and nearly 3.5 million natural genetic variations known as single nucleotide polymorphisms. Their findings, published in Frontiers in Plant Science, could help researchers understand the genetics underlying important attributes, such as the fatty acid composition and stearin content of shea butter, a multimillion-dollar ingredient used in cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and chocolate.
“The shea genome will enable researchers to gauge the potential of a seedling as soon as it germinates and through genome-enabled tree selection, we can start moving the needle on this difficult species.”
“A shea tree can take 25 years or more to come into production so it can be very costly for a farmer to wait that long and wonder if a tree is worth keeping,” said Iago Hale, associate professor of specialty crop improvement at UNH. “With such a long growing period, traditional breeding strategies simply aren’t viable, which is one reason there aren’t any high-performing shea varieties. The shea genome will enable researchers to gauge the potential of a seedling as soon as it germinates and through genome-enabled tree selection, we can start moving the needle on this difficult species.”
The shea tree is a crucial source of nutrition and income for hundreds of thousands of families living in Africa's "shea belt," and collecting shea nuts is nearly a universal household activity controlled almost entirely by women.
“To counteract these trends, we need to enhance the value of shea in the landscape. Genome-assisted breeding presents a path for achieving that.”
“The shea parklands are in decline due to the threat of alternative, typically male-controlled cash crops, like cashew and mango, and the immediate pay-off of cutting questionably productive trees for firewood,” added Hale. “Women need to travel longer distances to collect shea nuts, which means more labor and less profits. To counteract these trends, we need to enhance the value of shea in the landscape. Genome-assisted breeding presents a path for achieving that.”
Contributing public research institutions include the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, World Agroforestry, the African Orphan Crops Consortium, Ghent University and the University of California–Davis. Funding was provided by the Basic Research to Enhance Agricultural Development program, jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
