International Journal of
Genetics and Molecular Biology

  • Abbreviation: Int. J. Genet. Mol. Biol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2006-9863
  • DOI: 10.5897/IJGMB
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 139

Full Length Research Paper

Use of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to establish genetic relationships among cassava cultivars released by different research groups in Ghanaian

Peter Twumasi*
  • Peter Twumasi*
  • Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
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Eric Warren Acquah
  • Eric Warren Acquah
  • Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
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Marian D. Quain
  • Marian D. Quain
  • Crops Research Institute (CRI) of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CRI-CSIR)-Fumesua, Ghana, P.O. Box 3785, Kumasi, Ghana.
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Elizabeth Y. Parkes
  • Elizabeth Y. Parkes
  • Crops Research Institute (CRI) of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CRI-CSIR)-Fumesua, Ghana, P.O. Box 3785, Kumasi, Ghana.
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  •  Received: 16 February 2014
  •  Accepted: 08 October 2014
  •  Published: 30 October 2014

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is an important staple crop widely cultivated in Ghana. The crop also has diverse industrial applications including starch, beer and alcohol productions. Knowledge about the state of the Ghanaian cassava genetic diversity and population structure is paramount in breeding programmes aimed at cultivar improvements or breeding of new cultivars for specific purposes. This study focused on the use of 36 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) to produce SSR allelic polymorphisms for estimation of inter- and intra-population genetic diversity among Ghanaian cassava cultivars from five Ghanaian released and local cassava populations consisting of 11 released and two local cultivars. The results show high diversity among the studied cultivars with an average of seven (7) alleles per locus. Polymorphic loci varied from 68.6 to 100% with an average of 88.58%. A strong genetic diversity was observed within populations (HS =0.552) and therefore suggesting a low rate of inter-population gene flow among the individuals constituting the populations. This high genetic variability among the cultivars provides valuable genetic resource to support any future breeding programmes aimed at establishing new cassava varieties for domestic and industrial purposes.

 

Key words: Cassava, DNA fingerprinting, genetic diversity, simple sequence repeat (SSR).

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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