Multiple origins and a narrow genepool characterise the African tea germplasm: concordant patterns revealed by nuclear and plastid DNA markers.

Despite the highly economic value of tea in Africa, its genetic and geographic origins remain largely unexplored. Here we address this by collecting 439 samples across 11 countries in Africa and Asia to investigate the origin and genepool composition of African tea based on 23 nuclear microsatellites loci (nSSRs) and three cpDNA intergenic spacer regions. Our results indicated that the African tea represents a potpourri originating from multiple introductions over time.