Utilization of conserved genic SSR markers for phylogenetic analysis of Nigerian Ipomoea species

Abstract

Ipomoea, with enormous economic importance, is a large genus with species that are highly evolutionarily diverged. There is dearth of information regarding the phylogenetic relationships of the Nigerian species of the genus Ipomoea. It is therefore imperative to use contemporary taxonomic evidences to understand the diversity of its distribution in a region and provide enhanced delimitation of the taxa. In this study, 6 genic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers whose cross transferability have been established among the plant species were selected to appraise their level of polymorphism and used to study the phylogenetic relationships among 11 indigenous Nigerian Ipomoea species. The 6 SSR loci showed varying levels of polymorphism among the genotypes of all 11 species assessed and demonstrated 100% polymorphism when examined across the 11 species. A total of 55 alleles were produced. The PIC of the primers ranged between 0.2223 and 0.874 with an average value of 0.71885. Phylogenetic analysis clustered species into 3 major and 6 sub clusters wherein the species were clearly separated. This study has shown the effectiveness of developed genic SSR markers for establishing phylogenetic relationship in Ipomoea species.