Assessment of the hybrid status of some Malesian plants using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism

Abstract

Compared with temperate regions where hybrids are common, hybrids reported from the Malesian region are few. In addition, almost none has been the subject of quantitative or experimental study, either because they are rare or inaccessible or are difficult to grow or have long life cycles. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) has proved useful in determining whether taxa suggested as hybrids based on their morphological intermediacy between two putative parents are indeed hybrids. The results of AFLP analysis confirmed the hybrid status of taxa in the following genera, Begonia (Begoniaceae), Mangifera (Anacardiaceae) and Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae), while disproving the hybrid status of duku-langsat, Lansium (Meliaceae).