Morphological Variation and Inter-Relationships of Quantitative Traits in Enset (Ensete ventricosum (welw.) Cheesman) Germplasm from South and South-Western Ethiopia

Abstract We present a new assessment of the genetic and morphological variation within Oxymycterus quaestor Thomas, 1903, which currently includes the junior synonyms O. judex Thomas, 1909 and O. misionalis Sanborn, 1931. We integrate distinct lines of evidence, including variation of mitochondrial (Cytochrome b [Cytb]) and nuclear (intron 7 of beta fibrinogen gene [Fgb]) sequences, and the assessment of skull quantitative traits based on geometric morphometrics, throughout the Atlantic Forest of Southeastern-Southern Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Phylogenetic relationships based on Cytb indicate that O. quaestor is structured in four well-supported clades (lineages A–D), one of them (lineage C) including topotypes of a previously associated nominal form (O. judex). However, these Cytb lineages exhibit lower levels of differentiation based on the Fgb locus, and are not recovered in the genealogies of this nuclear marker, representing a case of mitonuclear discordance. The Cytb lineages also broadly overlapped in the morphospace both in skull shape and size, which sustain the current wider concept of O. quaestor as one single young species (0.947 Myr) that is recently expanding, and ultimately branching out, in the Atlantic Forest.

Download Full-text

Correlation and Path Coefficient Analysis of Quantitative Traits in Some Wollega Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Landrace in Western Ethiopia

10.7176/jees/9-4-01 ◽

2019 ◽

Keyword(s):

Coffea Arabica ◽

Quantitative Traits ◽

Path Coefficient ◽

Path Coefficient Analysis ◽

Western Ethiopia ◽

Coffea Arabica L

Download Full-text

Morphological Variation in Selected Accessions of Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) in South Africa

Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.5539/jas.v8n11p69 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (11) ◽

pp. 69 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amara Evangeline Unigwe ◽

Abe Shegro Gerrano ◽

Patrick Adebola ◽

Michael Pillay

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Genetic Variability ◽

Morphological Variation ◽

Quantitative Traits ◽

Block Design ◽

Bambara Groundnut ◽

Small Scale ◽

Phenotypic Traits ◽

Vigna Subterranea ◽

Subsistence Level

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) is an underutilized crop in the African continent. It is a drought tolerant crop and fixes atmospheric nitrogen. Bambara groundnut is primarily grown for the protein content of its seeds and is mainly produced by small scale farmers at subsistence level. The objective of the study was to assess the morphological variation of landraces of bambara groundnut in South Africa. Thirty accessions of bambara groundnut were evaluated for their variability in agronomic and morphological traits. The field experiment was conducted at ARC-VOPI in Roodeplaat research farm during the 2014/2015 summer cropping season. The field trial was arranged as a complete randomized block design with three replications. Eighteen quantitative traits were recorded to estimate the level of genetic variability among accessions. The analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the phenotypic traits evaluated. The UPGMA cluster analysis based on the quantitative traits produced four distinct groups of genotypes and a singleton. Genotypes SB11-1A, SB19-1A, SB12-3B and Bambara-12 were found to possess good vegetative characters and are recommended for use as suitable parents when breeding cultivars for fodder production. Desirable yield and yield-related traits were identified in B7-1, SB4-4C, SB19-1A, Bambara-12 and SB16-5A and are recommended as suitable parental lines for bambara groundnut grain production improvement. The phenotypic characters therefore provide a useful measure of genetic variability among bambara genotypes and will enable the identification of potential parental materials for future breeding programs in South Africa.

Download Full-text

Serbian spruce, a narrow endemic, contains much genetic variation

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x91-044 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 363-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

H. Kuittinen ◽

O. Muona ◽

K. Kärkkäinen ◽

Ž. Borzan

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Morphological Variation ◽

Quantitative Traits ◽

Small Population ◽

Finnish Population ◽

Natural Distribution ◽

Seedling Traits ◽

Narrow Endemic ◽

Serbian Spruce ◽

Two Populations

Serbian spruce (Piceaomorika (Pančić) Purk.) is reputedly a self-fertile and morphologically uniform species with a natural distribution restricted to a total area of less than 60 ha in central Yugoslavia. This has led to the conclusion that the species lacks genetic variation. In this study, genetic variation at 19 enzyme loci was investigated in two populations: a natural Yugoslavian population and a cultivated Finnish population. The average expected heterozygosities over 19 loci were 0.13 and 0.15 in the two populations, which are similar to those observed in other conifers. Heritabilities of four seedling traits were estimated on the basis of a progeny trial. They varied from 0.34 to 1.23, with standard deviations of 0.17–0.37. Because of maternal effects, these are probably inflated estimates, but they show that there may be considerable genetic variation in quantitative traits, as well. The observed amount of genetic variation in Serbian spruce is unexpectedly high considering its self-fertility and lack of morphological variation. We conclude that drift due to small population size has not had a large impact on the level of genetic variation in this species The lack of morphological variation observed by many authors is probably a result of selection.

Download Full-text