The tribe Acacieae is one of the three tribes of the distinct mimosoid clade nested within the re-circumscribed sub-family Caesalpinioideae. Many uncertainties exist with the taxonomic status of tribe Acacieae in relation to tribe Ingeae and genus Acacia. To unravel the phylogenetic patterns within Acacieae, nine members of the tribe were phylogenetically analysed employing both parsimony and Bayesian methods. Six data matrices (ITS, rbcL, matK, trnL-F, rbcL+matK+trnL-F and ITS+rbcL+matK+trnL-F) representing 46 sequences, and 2 outgroup taxa were used for the analysis. Our results are in support to some previous studies on the phylogeny of the Acacieae. It supports the polyphyly of tribe Acacieae. The monophyly of Vachellia, Senegalia and Faidherbia taxa were strongly supported at >70% bootstrap support values and >0.90 bayesian inference. An unresolved basal paraphyletic clade of Acacia auriculiformis with the outgroup taxa was shown in all the datasets, at mostly low support values. Faidherbia albida was nested within the Senegalia grade while A. auriculiformis (Acacia s.s.) was the closest taxon to the outgroup taxa. A key finding of this study is the polyphyly of Albizia and its close association with A. auriculiformis.

Background: Cattle rearing is the main means of livelihood for the Fulani people in the highlands of Gashaka Gumti National Park in Nigeria, however the remote location and inaccessible terrain prevent access to modern veterinary care. This puts both livestock and their keepers at risk. To survive, the inhabitants of this area rely on traditional methods to heal their animals. Regrettably, the Ethno-veterinary Medicine (EVM) knowledge in this region is jeopardized by the locals changing their preferences due to rapid socio-economic, environmental and technological changes taking place all over the world. Therefore, documenting the therapeutic knowledge of the medicinal plant is imperative to prevent it from being lost.Materials and Methods: We conducted repeated field surveys and data were collected from sixty community members using semi-structured questionnaires through participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and rapid rural appraisal (RRA) approach.Results: A total of eighty-eight (88) plant species belonging to 73 genera and 37 families, were recorded for the treatment of 24 cattle diseases. The most represented families were Fabaceae (17 species), and Asteraceae (7 species). Trees were the dominant plants recorded (49 species). Pterocarpus erinaceous was the most widely used therapeutic plant species. Leaves (27%) were the most widely used plant parts, followed by the whole plant (22%), stem bark (14%), and others. The most frequent route of medicinal administration was oral, followed by topical application. Out of the 24 ailments recorded, Bovine tuberculosis was the most reported ailments followed by Pneumonia.Conclusion: Together, these data show that the Fulani people in the study area have a vast knowledge of medicinal plants useful for effective treatment of cattle illness where traditional veterinary care is unavailable. It is pertinent to say that our study has made an important contribution towards the preservation of EVM knowledge of the study area. Therefore, subjecting the most utilized species to a phytochemical and pharmacological investigation is imperative for possible novel discovery and the production of cheap drugs.

The study seeks to evaluate the level of genetic diversity among selected cowpea varieties using both phenotypic traits and seed storage proteins. Twenty cowpea varieties were used in the study. They were planted and phenotypically characterized. Seed proteins were evaluated at maturity. There was a high phenotypic variation observed among the selected cowpea with the evaluated phenotypic traits while a low level of variation was observed with protein evaluation. The variation captured by the phenotype (>90%) was higher as compared to the protein (< 30%) analysis in the study. Three major clusters were generated with the majority of the germplasms in cluster III, regardless of whether the phenotype or protein analysis was used. While the variation observed within the phenotypic traits might have been due to environmental influences, the low variation exhibited using seed storage proteins implies a high level of similarity among cowpea samples. Hence, a more stable marker type should be explored to identify the true level of genetic diversity within cowpea germplasm.

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