ABSTRACT
Faidherbia albida (Del.) A. Chev is a tree species native to Africa and the Middle East. It is an
important agro-silvo pastural species owing to its morphological and physiological dynamics that
mediate improvement of soil structure and fertility while offering several other benefits to
farmers and the environment. Key among these is its reverse phenology, a phenomenon that
allows the tree to compete minimally with crops while providing a favorable microclimate for
their growth. It is also a chief source of fodder, wood, medicine and nectar for apiculture in the
dry season. Sustainable incorporation of F. albida in African farming systems will only be
underpinned by proper management of its genetic resources. Molecular information has become
indispensible in the contemporary management practices of agroforestry plant species. Genetic
structure data is crucial in conservation, breeding and introduction. Faidherba albida accessions
in ICRAF seed bank are not characterized and they are gradually losing viability. This study
assessed the genetic diversity of seventeen Faidherbia albida provenances from 10 African
countries by employing amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) with an aim of
providing crucial background genetic diversity information for in situ and ex situ management
and utilization of the collections. Plant materials consisted of F. albida accessions held at World
Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) seed bank. Five primer sets (EcoRI-ACA/MseI-CAT, EcoRIACT/
MseI-CTC, ECoRI-AAG/MseI-CTT, ECoRI-ACC/MseI-CAT and ECoRI-AGC/MseICTC)
that produced clear and scorable bands were utilized for the analysis. Fragments were
resolved using the ABI 3730 DNA analyzer. A total of 676 bands ranging from 50 to 499 base
pairs were produced. GenALEx 6.41 was employed to reveal partitioning of variation across the
populations and to display molecular relationships among the populations. Genetic diversity
estimates were computed using TFPGA software. EcoRI-ACT/MseI-CTC was the most
informative of the five markers (mean PIC 0.24). The average percentage of polymorphic loci
over all populations was 34 %. Collections from the Taveta (Kenya) provenance had the highest
percentage of polymorphic loci (69.53 %) while those from Manapools (Zimbabwe) had the
lowest percentage of polymorphic loci (13.46 %). The average heterozygosity ranged from 0.05-
0.28 with a mean of 0.17 across all the provenances. There was high and quite significant
population differentiation among the populations (PhipT =0.583, p=0.01). Amova revealed that
58 % of the total molecular variation was partitioned among the populations while 42 % was
within the populations. UPGMA clustering to a great extent reflected the geographical origins
and similarity of the germplasm save for Bolgatonga (Ghana) and Bignona (Senegal) whose
positions could explain the origin and evolutionary trends that have shaped the population
structure and distribution of the species. The results show that the germplasm held at ICRAF
seed bank is of low genetic variability with the Western and some of the Eastern Africa
provenances having the highest diversity. These can be used as seed sources for introduction and
domestication programs. More collections need to be done to cover the entire distribution range
of this species to capture more diversity and enrich this genepool.
Kariba, K (2021). Genetic Diversity Of Faidherbia Albida (Del.) A. Chev Collections Held At The World Agroforestry Centre (Icraf) Nairobi, Kenya. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/genetic-diversity-of-faidherbia-albida-del-a-chev-collections-held-at-the-world-agroforestry-centre-icraf-nairobi-kenya
Kariba, Kithure "Genetic Diversity Of Faidherbia Albida (Del.) A. Chev Collections Held At The World Agroforestry Centre (Icraf) Nairobi, Kenya" Afribary. Afribary, 01 Jun. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/genetic-diversity-of-faidherbia-albida-del-a-chev-collections-held-at-the-world-agroforestry-centre-icraf-nairobi-kenya. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.
Kariba, Kithure . "Genetic Diversity Of Faidherbia Albida (Del.) A. Chev Collections Held At The World Agroforestry Centre (Icraf) Nairobi, Kenya". Afribary, Afribary, 01 Jun. 2021. Web. 15 Oct. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/genetic-diversity-of-faidherbia-albida-del-a-chev-collections-held-at-the-world-agroforestry-centre-icraf-nairobi-kenya >.
Kariba, Kithure . "Genetic Diversity Of Faidherbia Albida (Del.) A. Chev Collections Held At The World Agroforestry Centre (Icraf) Nairobi, Kenya" Afribary (2021). Accessed October 15, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/genetic-diversity-of-faidherbia-albida-del-a-chev-collections-held-at-the-world-agroforestry-centre-icraf-nairobi-kenya