Abstract

Danladi Dada KUTA , Emmanuel KWON-NDUNG Stephen DACHI , Oladele BAKARE , and Liasu Adebayo OGUNKANMI

Fonio is an important indigenous grain crop of West Africa, but the extent of genetic diversity in fonio, its origin and phylogeny are not well understood. DNA markers allow precise characterization of plant germplasm accessions, but there is no literature report of their use in fonio. This paper reports the result of protocol optimization research for DNA isolation and RAPD analyses in fonio. High quality DNA was successfully isolated and RAPD was effectively used to study genetic similarity among fonio accessions. This result might stimulate the application of DNA markers to investigate the origin and phylogeny of fonio in Africa.