Authors : H.A. Doku, E.Y. Danquah, A.N. Amoah, K. Nyalemegbe and H.M. Amoatey
Abstract: Studies were carried out on 18 accessions of African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.) collected from four geographical regions of Ghana to assess genetic diversity and potential of these accessions, towards a thorough exploitation of the species, in a region-wide breeding programme to obtain new rice varieties better adapted to the harsh growing conditions of West and Central Africa (WCA). Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers were used to estimate diversity among the accessions. Out of 24 SSR primers used, 23 (i.e., 95.83%) showed allelic polymorphism in the accessions studied. Overall genetic diversity was high (I = 1.178, He = 0.625 and Nei’s He = 0.608) and the Fixation index statistics (Fst) revealed that 51.5% of the total variation exists among populations collected from the four geographical regions. All accessions were identified as separate entries with no duplications.
H.A. Doku, E.Y. Danquah, A.N. Amoah, K. Nyalemegbe and H.M. Amoatey, 2013. Genetic Diversity among 18 Accessions of African Rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.) Using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) Markers. Agricultural Journal, 8: 106-112.