Utility of iPBS retrotransposons markers for molecular characterization of African Gnetum species

Species of African Gnetum are lianas used as vegetables, medicines and for generating income. Despite the taxonomic confusion, identification of new species and diverse morphological characters in African Gnetum, molecular markers on these plants are lacking. However, the inter-primer binding site (iPBS) retrotransposons markers could be simple and excellent molecular markers for African Gnetum. The objective of this study was to determine the efficiency of iPBS markers in detecting genetic differentiation in African Gnetum species. A set of 21 iPBS markers were analysed on 14 accessions including G. africanum Welw., G. buchholzianum Engl. and the recently identified species G. latispicum. Six best selected primers generated 103 bands in G. africanum, 95 in G. buchholzianum and 24 in G. latispicum. Cluster analysis divided the accessions into two major groups. The first group contained all the accessions of G. africanum, whereas the second group was further divided in two subgroups representing accessions of G. buchholzianum and G. latispicum. Additionally, the Jaccard similarity coefficient indicated a close relationship between accessions of G. buchholzianum and G. latispicum. The iPBS marker system revealed genetic differentiation within African Gnetum and could be useful for evaluating genetic diversity, conservation, taxonomy and evolution studies.