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Genetic diversity in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] germplasm from Southern Africa as revealed by microsatellite markers and agro-morphological traits

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Abstract

Cultivated sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an important food security crop in the semi-arid regions of the world including Asia and Africa. Its genetic diversity is contained mostly in traditional varieties and modern cultivars used by farmers. In this study, agro-morphological traits and molecular markers were used to assess genetic diversity in 22 accessions of cultivated sorghum from five countries (Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe) in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The study revealed a significant variation among 22 accessions in both qualitative and quantitative morphological traits, indicating the accessions’ promising potential as breeding material. For molecular analysis, 11 microsatellite primer-pairs were used, and generated a total of 70 alleles across 20 accessions. Analysis of molecular variance revealed a high level of genetic variation; 67 % among the accessions and 10 % among the five countries. The patterns of genetic diversity and the relationships observed in this study should provide insights for genetic resource conservation and utilization of sorghum germplasm in the SADC region.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this project was provided by Sida through the SADC Plant Genetic Resources Centre. Field work was financed by the Government of Botswana. We are grateful to the governments of Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe for providing germplasm used in the study. We are greatly indebted to the staff at the National Plant Genetic Resources Centre in Botswana for management of field experiments and field data recording.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P. O. Box 101, 230 53, Alnarp, Sweden

    Tiny Motlhaodi, Mulatu Geleta, Moneim Fatih, Rodomiro Ortiz & Tomas Bryngelsson

  2. Department of Agricultural Research, Private Bag 0033, Gaborone, Botswana

    Tiny Motlhaodi & Stephen Chite

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  1. Tiny Motlhaodi
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  2. Mulatu Geleta
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  6. Tomas Bryngelsson
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Correspondence to Tiny Motlhaodi.

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Motlhaodi, T., Geleta, M., Chite, S. et al. Genetic diversity in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] germplasm from Southern Africa as revealed by microsatellite markers and agro-morphological traits. Genet Resour Crop Evol 64, 599–610 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-016-0388-x

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