Title: RAPD Variation Within and Among Natural Populations of African Cherry (<i>prunus Africana</i>) From Ethiopia
Abstract:In order to facilitate reasoned scientific decisions on its management and conservation, genetic analysis of six populations of <i>P. Africana</i> sampled from six different geographical regions of Et...In order to facilitate reasoned scientific decisions on its management and conservation, genetic analysis of six populations of <i>P. Africana</i> sampled from six different geographical regions of Ethiopia was performed using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Seventy six percent of the loci studied revealed polymorphisim for the whole data set. Within population diversity estimated by using Nei’s gene diversity estimates ranged from 0.307 (Chilimo) to 0.150 (Bulki), with a mean of 0.234. Genetic differentiation between populations was estimated with Nei’s G<sub>ST</sub> (0.264) and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) based F<sub>ST</sub> (0.257), which appears to be slightly higher than the average values obtained from various RAPD based studies on outcrossing and long-lived species. Genetic relationships among the populations were examined. The resulting tree separated the six populations into two primary clusters which somewhat reflects their geographical locations. Data suggested that conservation approach of <i>P. africana</i> should consider each population separately.Read More