Authors:
Abstract:Bambusa vulgaris is a non-timber forest product that is gaining popularity as a timber substitute in Ghana. It forms about 95 per cent of bamboo population in Ghana. Increased harvesting and lack of knowledge on proper harvesting and regeneration call for conservation intervention. This study describes the within- and between population genetic variation using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Six deca-mer primers generated 45 different sized fragments (loci) across 76 accessions from four populations in Ghana. The number of bands per primer ranged between five (GEN1-60E) and 10 (GEN1-60A and GEN1-60G) bands with an average of 7.5. The percentage of polymorphic bands ranged from 66.67 to 100 per cent with a mean of 89 per cent. Genetic distances among populations ranged from 10 to 27 per cent. Most of the genetic variation was found to reside within populations (81.5%) with a low index of population differentiation (18.5%), although significant (P < 0.001). Cluster analysis produced four major clusters with seven sub-clusters. The evergreen and semi-deciduous accessions grouped separately and may be classified as two different management units (MUs). The results suggest that sampling from moist evergreen in MU1 and dry semi-deciduous zone in MU2 may provide a core collection that could represent the total gene pool of B. vulgaris in Ghana.
Keywords:bamboos; biological development; conservation; differentiation; DNA; forests; genetic variation; harvesting; managemen