Abstract
Progress is being made at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria) to develop molecular tools for marker-assisted selection that would complement and expedite conventional breeding approaches for genetic improvement of yams ( Dioscorea spp.). F 1 full-sib mapping populations were developed from crossing male and female parents of Dioscorea rotundata Poir. and Dioscorea alata L. that differ in specific traits of interest towards identification of molecular markers linked to those traits. Success in hybridization was validated based on DNA analysis with SSR markers on agarose gel. Traits for which the populations were developed included multiple tuber production, cooking quality and virus disease resistance in D. rotundata and anthracnose disease resistance, cooking quality and tuber oxidation in D. alata . Death of plants in the field and rotting of tubers in storage, possibly due to pests, diseases and other environmental factors were encountered, that led to the reduction in sizes of the populations. Low seed multiplication ratio necessitated two to three cycles of tuber multiplication of mapping population genotypes to achieve adequate numbers of seed tubers for field experimentation. These mapping populations are valuable tools for genetic analysis and molecular marker development in yam improvement programmes.
Highlights
Yam (Dioscorea species of family Dioscoreaceae) is a multi-species, polyploid and clonally-propagated crop that is cultivated for its starchy tubers
Progress is being made at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria) to develop molecular tools for marker-assisted selection that would complement and expedite conventional breeding approaches for genetic improvement of yams (Dioscorea spp.)
F1 full-sib mapping populations were developed from crossing male and female parents of Dioscorea rotundata Poir. and Dioscorea alata L. that differ in specific traits of interest towards identification of molecular markers linked to those traits
Summary
Yam (Dioscorea species of family Dioscoreaceae) is a multi-species, polyploid and clonally-propagated crop that is cultivated for its starchy tubers. Yam is important for food, income and socio-cultural events. The major edible yam species are Dioscorea rotundata P., Dioscorea cayenensis Lam., Dioscorea dumetorum (Kunth) Pax, Dioscorea alata L., Dioscorea bulbifera L., Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.) Burk. Dioscorea trifida L. and Dioscorea nummularia Lam. Genetic improvement of yams at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria) and its partners in West Africa is focused on D. rotundata, D. cayenensis and D. alata.
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