Genetic Relationship Among 36 Genotypes of Ceiba pentandra (L.) as Revealed by RAPD and ISSR Markers

2016

English

Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn (trade name Ceiba) of the family Bombacaceae is an important multi-purpose tree species in Ghana and demand for it is rising daily. As a result, it has been included as one of the species for the National Forest Plantation Development Programme of Ghana as part of the efforts towards its restoration. Seedlings for the programme are being raised from seed collected from the wild without regard for their genetic quality and its future adverse effects. The absence of adequate information on the genetic diversity within the species therefore serves as a potential threat to its long term sustainable management and efficient genetic conversation. The phylogenetic relationships of 36 genotypes of C. pentandra from natural range of the species in five ecological zones (populations) of Ghana were therefore analyzed using 10 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) markers (5 random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) and 5 inter simple sequence repeats (ISSRs)). The principal component analysis (PcoA) defined by axis 1 and 2 accounted for 67.15% of the variation observed. Cluster analysis using GeneStat Discovery showed that, 14 (38.89%), 21 (58.33%) and 4 (11.11%) of the accessions had a coefficient of similarity of 1 from the RAPD, ISSR and the combined RAPD and ISSR polymorphism respectively. The most distantly related accessions from the RAPD polymorphism analysis were BAW 1 and KON 8 with a similarity coefficient of 0.06 whereas those from the ISSR polymorphism were BAW 10 and ASE 1 with 21% similarity between them. Similarly, BUF 1 and KUE 1 were the most dissimilar accessions from the combined RAPD and ISSR fragments analysis with a similarity coefficient of 0.23. Nine (25%) accessions with high degree of dissimilarity between them were identified in the study. These accessions could serve as good candidates for conservation as seed trees and in breeding programs of C. pentandra in Ghana. Implications of the findings for effective management of the genetic resources of the species were also discussed.

Abengmeneng, C. S.; Ofori, D.; Kumapley, P.; Akromah, R.; Jamnadass, R.; Quain, M.