Genetic diversity in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L.) germplasm revealed by RAPD markers

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to assess genetic diversity in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L.) germplasm using 25 A frican accessions from the collection in the International Institute for Tr opical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria. Fifty random decamer primers were scre ened to assess their ability to detect polymorphism in bambara; 17 of them were selected for this study. Considerable genetic diversity was found amon g the V. subterranea accessions studied. The relationships among the 25 acc essions were studied by cluster analysis. The dendrograms showed two main g roups of accessions mainly along the lines of their geographic origin. It i s concluded that RAPD can be used for germplasm classification in bambara g roundnut and hence for improving this crop.