Diversity in Encephalartos woodii collections based on Random Amplified DNA markers (RAPD's) and Inter-Specific Sequence Repeats (ISSR's)

Variations in morphological characters inspired us to subject various genotypes of Encephalartos woodii to DNA based marker analyses. Genomic DNA of five genotypes of E. woodii growing in the environs of Durban, South Africa was amplified using 15 RAPD and 5 ISSR primers. The amplification profiles of both marker systems resulted in differences in the detected banding patterns. The dendrogram generated using the Unweighted Pair Group Method using Arithmetic Averages (UPGMA) grouped all the E. woodii genotypes in one group. The two genotypes of E. natalensis analyzed for comparison were clustered in a different group. Due to different hierarchical positions in the dendrogram it is clear that the genome of all E. woodii accessions is not exactly the same. The reasons for such variations could well be that the Ngoye and Krantzkloof types originally found in two very distinct parts of Natal did not originate from the same parent(s).