Identification of F1 Cassava (&lt;i&gt;Manihot esculenta&lt;/i&gt; Crantz) Progeny Using Microsatellite Markers and Capillary Electrophoresis

Kyaligonza Vincent,Ferguson Morag,Vuzi Peter,Kawuki Robert,Kaweesi Tadeo,Baguma Yona

doi:10.4236/ajps.2014.51015

Abstract

Generation of genetic diversity is necessary in improving on the potential of cassava when faced with various biotic and abiotic challenges. Presently, cassava breeders are breeding for a number of traits, such as drought tolerance, early root bulking, yield, starch, beta-carotene, protein, dry matter, pest and disease resistance, by relying on genetic diversity that exists in manihot esculenta germplasm. Controlled pollination is one of the main methods used to generate genetic diversity in cassava. However, the process of controlled pollination especially in an open field is prone to contamination by illegitimate pollen right from the time of pollination, seed collection, nursery bed establishment to planting of the trials. Therefore, authentication of the progeny obtained from cassava crosses is very important for genetic studies. Twelve informative microsatellite markers were used to verify the authenticity of 364 F1 progeny thought to come from four controlled parental crosses. The transmission of each allele at nine microsatellite loci was tracked from parents to progeny in each of the four Namikonga-derived F1 cassava families. Out of the 364 F1 progeny, 317 (87.1%) were true-to-type, 44 (12.1%) were a product of self-pollination and 3 (0.8%) were a product of open pollination. The consistency of the results obtained using microsatellite markers makes this technique a reliable tool for assessing the purity of progeny generated from cassava crosses.

Highlights

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is one of the most important and widely grown root crops in Africa, Asia and South America with a total production of over 250 million tonnes [1]
Hand pollination was done as described by Kawano, [19] at a cassava crossing block established at the National Crops Resources Research Institute, Uganda
This study was aimed at identifying false progeny among four Namikonga-derived F1cassava families using simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers and capillary electrophoresis

Summary

Introduction

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is one of the most important and widely grown root crops in Africa, Asia and South America with a total production of over 250 million tonnes [1]. Cassava is mainly grown for its starchy storage roots and plays a key role in the livelihood of resourcelimited farmers in tropical Africa where it serves both as a food security crop and a source of income generation [3]. This important crop faces both biotic and abiotic threats which cause yield losses and hinder optimal cassava productivity. Cassava breeding mostly focuses on phenotypic selection of the best performing clones as parents. Such selection can only be effective if the pedigree of clones is OPEN ACCESS

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