No abstract

Induced mutagenesis is a method of creating genetic variability in crops for its improvement. Mutant lines of Celosia argentea, irradiated with sodium azide and fast neutron were evaluated for genetic variability patterns. Mutant lines were collected from the Department of Plant Biology, Federal University of Technology, Minna and analysed using five RAPD primers at the Biosciences Laboratory, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria. Data generated were subjected to UPGMA clustering and principal component analysis. Five RAPD primers generated 21 amplification bands, with all the bands being 100% polymorphic. Allelic frequency per primer ranged from 0.40 in Primer (OPH05, OPB17 and OPB04) to 0.70 (OPT17) with an average frequency of 0.48 per primer. The highest polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.70 was generated by primer OPH05 with an average PIC of 0.55 per primer. The clustering of the mutants and their parent into five distinct genetic groups by UPGMA dendrogram and four groups by principal component analysis was not based on the mutagenic agent used confirming the high level of induced diversity among the treatments. Therefore, Sodium Azide and Fast Neutron Irradiation are effective mutagens for inducing useful variability in Celosia argentea.