Abstract: Amaranthus hybridus L. is an important vegetable in Nigeria, grown mainly for its highly nutritious leaves. In a bid to explore the possibility of increasing the infra-specific diversity of the crop, we induced three accessions of A. hybridus from Anambra State, Nigeria with x-ray particles using various concentration levels. The experimental layout composed a 5 x 3 x 3 Randomized Complete Block Design arrangement, with treatment levels: 1 MGY, 2 MGY, 4 MGY, and 6 MGY, selectively allotted to the different accession based on a preliminary dosimetry test. Morphological data were recorded and subsequently leaves samples subjected to Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) extraction and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. The results show that except for inflorescence weight, other morphological data were not statistically significant. However, RAPD techniques identify some variations induced by x-ray particles on the different accessions. Ogbunike accession irradiated with 4 MGY appears to show the optimum concentration of x-ray particles required to induce genetic variability in A. hybridus. These findings are of paramount importance to plant breeders, whose primary tool is to identify variations to produce better yielding varieties.Abstract: Amaranthus hybridus L. is an important vegetable in Nigeria, grown mainly for its highly nutritious leaves. In a bid to explore the possibility of increasing the infra-specific diversity of the crop, we induced three accessions of A. hybridus from Anambra State, Nigeria with x-ray particles using various concentration levels. The experimental layou...Show More
Abstract: Solanum macrocarpon is an important vegetable native to Africa, with leaves and fruits. It is a potential source of income and nutrients that contribute to the nutritional balance of the local population's food intake. However, S. macrocarpon did not attract the interest of researchers in relation to other Solanum species. Indeed, knowledge of the genetic diversity of S. macrocarpon (Gboma Eggplant) in Africa is limited. Although agronomic variations and relationships generally reveal important traits of interest to breeders. This study attempts to estimate the genetic diversity of a collection of S. macrocarpon (32 accessions) from Burkina Faso using SSR markers. The results show that eleven (11) of the 22 SSR markers tested were informative for phylogenetic analysis and could serve as a perfect reference for diversity studies. The 11 polymorphic SSR primers selected amplified 22 alleles with an average of 2 per primer. The polymorphism information content (PIC) varied from 0.212 for emg01B17 to 0.437 for emd15D09. The genetic distances between the accessions studied varied from 0 to 0.68 and made it possible to distinguish three genetic groups. The expected Nei (He) heterozygosity for the genetic group ranged from 0.140 for group III to 0.261 for group I. The eleven pairs of SSR markers sufficiently discriminated against the accessions of S. macrocarpon. The results of this study will be useful for the conservation and genetic improvement of the S. macrocarpon species in Burkina Faso.Abstract: Solanum macrocarpon is an important vegetable native to Africa, with leaves and fruits. It is a potential source of income and nutrients that contribute to the nutritional balance of the local population's food intake. However, S. macrocarpon did not attract the interest of researchers in relation to other Solanum species. Indeed, knowledge of the ...Show More
