STABILITY OF CASSAVA PLANTS AT THE DNA LEVEL AFTER RETRIEVAL FROM 10 YEARS OF IN-VITRO STORAGE

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) germplasm collections are conventio nally maintained by continuous vegetative propagation in the field. Ti ssue culture techniques provide a more convenient way to conserve germ plasm. The cassava in vitro gene bank held in trust at CIAT comprises nearly 6000 accessions. A study was carried out to determine whether a ny DNA rearrangements resulting from in vitro storage under slow growt h could be detected by molecular analysis in retrieved plants. RFLPs w ith homologous probes, RAPDs with twenty primers and DNA fingerprintin g with M13 probe were tested to detect variation at DNA level in cassa va plants after ten-years in vitro storage. The molecular marker data obtained in this study supports the stability of the cassava germplasm under the in vitro storage conditions described in this work.