Open AccessCHROMOSOMAL ANALYSIS OF EIGHT CULTIVARS IN THREE SPECIES OF CULTIVATED YAM (DIOSCOREA) SPECIES IN NIGERIA
Author(s) -
Joshua Olumide Matthew,
Julius Olaoye Faluyi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
caryologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.319
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 2165-5391
pISSN - 0008-7114
DOI - 10.36253/caryologia-840
Subject(s) - dioscorea rotundata , dioscorea , biology , cultivar , botany , horticulture , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
The genus Dioscorea comprises of economically-important plant species known for their starch throughout the world; it is also a major source of food and income in Africa. The most important Dioscorea species cultivated and consumed in the West Africa belt include D. cayenensis, D. rotundata and D. alata. The plant materials used in this study were collected from Omu-Ekiti, Oye Local Government of Ekiti State, Nigeria using the On Farm Participatory Method (OFPM). Mitotic chromosome studies were carried out on three species viz, Dioscorea alata (‘ewura’), D. cayenensis (‘igangan’) and D. rotundata (‘areyingbakumo’, ‘gaungaun’, ‘ikumo’, ‘ogunmole’ and ‘sandpaper’). Mitotic chromosome studies were carried out on each of the cultivars using the root tip squash method made in modified Orcein stain (FLP-Orcein). Dormant tubers were cut to mini-setts and placed in carbonised rice husk for rooting. This study reports the basic chromosome number of x = 8, i.e. 2n = 4x =32 (D. alata), 2n = 4x =38 (D. rotundata) and 2n = 8x = 68 (D. cayenensis) for Dioscorea suggesting that both D. rotundata and D. cayenensis are aneuploids.