Genetic variation in wild sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp verticilliflorum (L.) Moench) germplasm from Ethiopia assessed by random amplified polymorphicDNA (RAPD)
A. Ayana et al., Genetic variation in wild sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp verticilliflorum (L.) Moench) germplasm from Ethiopia assessed by random amplified polymorphicDNA (RAPD), HEREDITAS, 132(3), 2000, pp. 249-254
The extent and distribution of genetic variation in wild sorghum (Sorghum b
icolor ssp. verticilliflorum (L.) Moench) collected from five different geo
graphical regions in Ethiopia were analyzed using random amplified polymorp
hic DNA (RAPD) markers for 93 individuals representing 11 populations. Nine
decamer primers generated a total of 83 polymorphic bands with 8-12 bands
per primer and a mean of 9 bands across the 93 individuals. The amount of g
enetic variation among the populations ((H) over bar = 0.37) and among the
geographical region ((H) over bar = 0.44) was low to moderate, despite the
high degree of polymorphic bands per primer. Similarly, the mean genetic di
stance (0.08) among populations as well as among regions of origin (0.04) o
f the population was found to be low. The low genetic variation may be due
to the reduced population size of the wild sorghum in Ethiopia because of h
abitat change. Partitioning of the genetic variation into between and withi
n the population as well as between and within the regions of origin reveal
ed that 75% and 88% of the variation was found within the populations and w
ithin the regions, respectively. Cluster analysis of genetic distance estim
ates further confirmed low level of differentiation of wild sorghum populat
ions both on population and regional bases. The implications of the results
for genetic conservation purposes are discussed.