Capiz is one of the major coconut-producing provinces in the Visayas, but horti-morphological and molecular characterization of in situ coconut populations in the locality remains limited. This study conducted an in-situ characterization of the fruit components and yield parameters as well as the genetic diversity and population structure of three tall coconut populations in Capiz using 16 SSR markers. Among these populations, CAP3 (1,543 g) has the highest total fruit weight, followed by CAP2 (1,419 g), while CAP1 (1,238 g) exhibited the lowest fruit weight. Furthermore, CAP3 showed relatively high values in terms of the number of leaves per palm, number of bunches, number of nuts per bunch, and nut yield per palm and per hectare. To complement these horti-morphological findings, SSR analysis revealed a total of 56 alleles, with an average of 3.5 alleles per locus. Observed heterozygosity (Ho = 0.821) exceeded expected heterozygosity (He = 0.658) and PIC values ranged from 0.520 to 0.669. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 93% of total genetic variation occurred within populations, while only 7% was distributed among populations. Genetic differentiation among populations was low to moderate but statistically significant (Φ _ST = 0.067; p < 0.001), suggesting a high degree of genetic connectivity and gene flow, overriding the effects of geographic distance between and among sampling sites. Furthermore, hierarchical clustering and principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) showed extensive intermixing of individuals with no clear geographic structuring. Overall, the populations exhibited moderate to high genetic diversity, highlighting their value as genetic resources for future breeding, conservation, and replanting purposes.

Wall-associated kinase (WAK) and WAK-like (WAKL) genes are a class of receptor-like proteins that play crucial roles in plant growth, cell wall integrity, and defense signaling. Although these genes have been systematically characterized in several plant species, comprehensive studies of WAK/WAKLs in banana remain limited. In this study, a comparative genome-wide identification of WAK/WAKL genes was conducted in the banana species Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. A total of 50 and 25 WAK/WAKL genes were identified in the M. acuminata and M. balbisiana genomes, respectively. Evolutionary analysis based on Ka/Ks calculation showed that segmental and tandem gene duplications, coupled with purifying selection, have contributed to the expansion and evolution of this gene family in Musa. Protein characterization indicated that most WAK/WAKL proteins were localized mainly in the plasma membrane and exhibited conserved domains including protein tyrosine and serine/threonine kinase, galacturonan-binding, and EGF/EGF-like domains. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the WAK/WAKL proteins into ten clusters, and chromosomal mapping showed that these genes are unevenly distributed across 11 chromosomes. Promoter analysis further indicated that stress-related regulatory sequences are predominant, suggesting potential roles in stress responses. Furthermore, the MaWAK-15 homolog in M. balbisiana, which has a high-sequence similarity with MbWAK-12, was found to be upregulated by 5.96-folds following infection by banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), indicative of its potential involvement in viral resistance. Overall, this study contributes to further understanding of WAK/WAKL gene families in Musa species and identifies putative candidate genes for elucidating the molecular basis of BBTV resistance.