Genetic Diversity Analysis Among Cowpea [vigna Unguiculata (l.) Walp] Accessions From Sub-saharan Africa Using Simple Sequence Repeats (ssr's).
Abstract
Cowpea is one of the most important legumes in the world. It is the second most
important pulse crop in tropical Africa after common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Cowpea
is valued for the high protein content of its grains which is about 25%. In Africa, where
animal protein is not always freely available/ affordable, cowpea provides a valuable
source of proteins. Cowpea diversity and relatedness in Africa is poorly understood. This
lack of knowledge and information inhibits the use of novel germplasm and novel alleles
in breeding programs and results in potential crop improvement bottlenecks. A core set of
1430 accessions of cowpea landraces from Sub-Saharan Africa were identified from the
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture's (IITA) global cowpea collection (15003
accessions). In this study sixteen SSR markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity
cowpea landraces in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Citation
Master of Science in Biochemistry of the University of Nairobi. November 2008Publisher
University of Nairobi College of Biological and Physical Sciences (CBPS)