Abstract

This study investigates the rate of concurrent depletion on the remnant flora growing in the North-eastern part of Lagos, which lies in the South-western part of Nigeria. Tree species growing in this area are not spared from advancing civilization, which has resulted in inevitable loss of genetic resources. Hence, molecular technique is adopted in an effort to conserve the genetic resources of the tree species. Samples were collected at random from various sites in north eastern part of Lagos and identified. A total of 66 tree species was recorded. Genomic DNA was extracted from fresh leaves samples following modified cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) DNA extraction protocol. The DNA when viewed on 1% agarose revealed bands of high molecular weight. Also, spectrophotometric check on the genomic DNA showed a good quality DNA samples with absorbance ratio of 1.7 to 1.8. The purified DNA was dissolved in buffer and stored at -80°C in the established DNA Bank at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria. This can be used for further investigations including understanding genetic and evolutionary relationships between taxa, functional analysis of genes, comparative genomics, DNA barcoding and plant breeding amongst others.

Key words: Bio-conservation, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), Lagos, trees, genetic resources.