Abstract

The existence of genetic diversity in germplasm collections is crucial for cultivar development. Genetic relationships among 105 Bambara groundnuts (Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.) accessions from Kenya were evaluated using 12 microsatellite markers. The Bambara landraces were collected from farmers in the western region and the National Genebank of Kenya. A total number of 24 alleles were revealed with a mean of 2 alleles per locus. The polymorphic information content and gene diversity values averaged 0.28 and 0.35, respectively indicating low genetic diversity among the evaluated Bambara groundnut germplasm. Genetic distance based on Jaccard’s similarity coefficient from the simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker analysis ranged from 0.08 to 1.16 among the landraces. Cluster analysis distinctly grouped the 105 accessions into three major clusters. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 98% of the total genetic variation was within accessions whereas the genetic variation among accessions accounted for 2% of the total genetic variation. The genetic diversity observed in this study provides the basis for selection of appropriate parental genotypes for breeding programmes and mapping populations to further broaden the genetic base of Bambara groundnut germplasm in Kenya.

Key words: Vigna subterranean, accessions, Kenya, microsatellite markers, gene diversity, cluster analysis.