DNA tools can help farmers and managers to get the most out of their cocoa plantations. One of the basic applications of DNA tools is in the correct identification of varieties through DNA fingerprinting.

DNA FINGERPRINTING OF COCOA (THEORY AND PRACTICE) (FIVE DAY SHORT COURSE FOR FARM MANAGERS, TECHNICIANS AND TRAINERS)

Pre-requisite: No pre-requisites

Course description: Introduction to the origin and domestication of cocoa.  Definition of cocoa populations, cocoa landraces, hybrids.  Introduction to DNA structure and properties.  Approaches to DNA fingerprinting – genome wide methodologies vs sequence specific approaches.  Method and approaches to DNA isolation from cocoa tissue (practical).  Assessing the quality of isolated DNA for downstream applications (practical).  Introduction to polymerase chain reaction and real-time PCR.  Using genome wide approaches to fingerprint DNA.  Principles and methods of gel electrophoresis and recording the results.  Phylogenetic analysis.  Principles of fingerprinting based on RFLP, SSR and SNPS.  Practicals on SNP-based DNA fingerprinting.  At the end of the course, students will be able to understand the theoretical and practical methods in DNA fingerprinting.