%D 2023
%K Fluted pumpkingenetic diversitypopulation structureSCoT markersTelfairia occidentalisunderutilized
%T Start codon-targeted marker evaluation of
genetic relationship and population
structure in southern Nigerian fluted
pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook F.)
collection
%R https://doi.org/10.1017/S1479262123000308[Opens in a new window]
%L eprints16963
%J Plant Genetic Resources
%A Oluwadurotimi S. Aworunse
%A J.O Popoola
%A Rajneesh Paliwall
%A Olawole O. Obembe
%X Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook F.) is an underutilized indigenous
leafy vegetable with enormous prospects for food security in sub-Saharan
Africa. However, relatively little is known about genetic relationships and
population structure in the species. In this study, 32 landraces of fluted
pumpkin collected across three southern geographical regions in Nigeria were
assessed for genetic diversity and population structure using 8 start codontargeted
(SCoT) makers. The polymorphic information content of the SCoT
markers ranged from 0.48 in SCoT36 to 0.94 in SCoT28, with an average of
0.77. Hierarchical cluster dendrogram based on Ward's method and principal
component analysis grouped the landraces into four clusters without
affiliation to provenance. Overall, the mean values of the population genetic
diversity parameters – Nei's gene diversity (H) and Shannon's information
index (I) showed values of 0.28 ± 0.01 and 0.43 ± 0.02, respectively, implying
a narrow genetic base for the landraces. The result was further corroborated
by a very close Nei's genetic distance and identity among populations of the
landraces. Furthermore, the south-west population exhibited the higher
genetic diversity (H = 0.31 ± 0.02 and I = 0.45 ± 0.03). Population structure
analysis inferred three subpopulations for the accessions with varying
degrees of allelic admixture. An analysis of molecular variance revealed that
almost all the genetic variation occurred within (99%) than between (1%)
populations. The findings shed light on the genetic diversity of southern
Nigerian fluted pumpkin and have significant implications for the
characterisation, conservation, exploitation and improvement of the species.