Genetic diversity of Guizotia abyssinica (L. f.) Cass. (Asteraceae) from Ethiopia as revealed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

Abstract

Genetic diversity of 70 populations of niger (Guizotia abyssinica) representing all its growing regions in Ethiopia was investigated using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to reveal the extent of its populations genetic diversity. Ninety-seven percent of the loci studied was revealed to be polymorphic for the whole data set. The within population diversity estimated by Shannon diversity index and Nei gene diversity estimates was revealed to be 0.395 and 0.158, respectively. The extent of genetic variation of populations from major niger producing regions was significantly lower than that of populations from other regions; however, it is distributed regardless of altitude of growth. Genetic differentiation between populations was estimated with Shannon index as G 0 ST (0.432), Nei's G ST (0.242) and AMOVA based F ST (0.350) and appears to be equivalent to the average values calculated from various RAPD based studies on outcrossing species. Higher proportion of the variation detected by AM-OVA resided within populations (64.58%) relative to the amount of variation among populations (35.42%).UPGMA cluster analysis showed that most of the populations were clustered according to their region of origin. However, some populations were genetically distant from the majority and seem to have unique genetic properties. It is concluded that the crop has a wide genetic basis that may be used for the improvement of the species through conventional breeding and/or marker assisted selection. Collection of germplasm from areas not yet covered and/or underrepresented is the opportunity to broaden the genetic basis of genebank collection.

Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) based analysis of genetic diversity ofLobelia rhynchopetalum(Campanulaceae)

“…The total genetic variation estimates obtained using Shannon diversity index ( H SP ) for L. rhynchopetalum is comparable with the AFLP and RAPD based diversity estimates obtained for various Guizotia (Asteraceae) species (Geleta et al 2007a, 2007b, 2008). However, unlike Guizotia species, the majority of the genetic variation in L. rhynchopetalum was found between populations.…”

Analysis of genetic diversity and relationships of wild Guizotia species from Ethiopia using ISSR markers

“…In fact the technique was able to discriminate between the different strains of niger that were identified based on the duration to flowering and maturity. Geleta et al (2007) also studied the genetic diversity of niger populations from Ethiopia as revealed by random amplified polymorphic DNA and reported a high degree of polymorphism among and within the populations. As G. abyssinica is the most important oil crop in Ethiopia, the present work becomes worthwhile because attempts to improve its agronomic or oil quality, whether it be through conventional plant breeding or genetic engineering would, to a certain extent rely on the knowledge of its wild relatives.…”

Population genetics of self-incompatibility and developing self-compatible genotypes in niger (Guizotia abyssinica)

“…Studies on the genetic diversity of Ethiopian niger using various molecular marker techniques have revealed high genetic variation (e.g., Geleta et al 2007Geleta et al , 2008Petros et al 2007). Interesting genotypes with different desirable traits have recently been identified and are being developed in our department.…”