Abstract
Milicia species(M. excelsa andM. regia, Moraceae, theirokos) are among the most useful indigenous rain forest treespecies in Africa. They are not grown in plantations but extractedfrom the natural forest at an unsustainable rate. The majorconstraint on cultivation and afforestation is thegall-forming insect Phytolyma lata, whichdestroys seedlings through gall formation, causing dieback of theshoot. Genetic diversity studies should aid the design ofconservation and resistance-breeding strategies. This study,therefore, aimed to investigate the genetic variability inMilicia from three West African countries andthe power of bulk-family DNA in partitioning of geneticdiversity. Genetic variation within and between 5 natural populationsof Milicia from Ghana, Côte d'Ivoireand Sierra Leone was investigated using random amplified polymorphicDNA (RAPD) and non-coding chloroplast DNAsequencing. RAPD analysis of 41 DNA samples with 8 primers produced atotal of 74 bands with 40 bands (54.1%) beingpolymorphic. Dendrogram analysis produced 2 major clusters separatingdry and moist/wet ecotypes. Sub-clustering furtherseparated accessions by forest type and/or geographic region. Agreater proportion of the total genetic variability was attributed tovariation between populations (62.2%) than withinpopulations (37.8%). Sequencing of chloroplasttRNALeu intron (cptrnL) and intergenic spacer(cpIGS) between cptrnL and tRNAPhe(trnF) did not show any variation. The RAPD analysissuggests that trees from wet/moist sites are mostlyM. regia, while those fromdry sites are mostly M.excelsa. Sequencing results, however, suggestthat the two species are closely related. These results are discussedwith reference to conservation strategies.
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Ofori, D., Swaine, M., Leifert, C. et al. Population genetic structure of Milicia speciescharacterised by using RAPD and nucleotide sequencing L.. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 48, 637–647 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013805807957
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013805807957