X-ray Induced Genetic Variability in Amaranthus hybridus L. and Analysis of Variants Using Morphological and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Data

Amaranthus hybridus L. is an important vegetable in Nigeria, grown mainly for its highly nutritious leaves. In a bid to explore the possibility of increasing the infra-specific diversity of the crop, we induced three accessions of A. hybridus from Anambra State, Nigeria with x-ray particles using various concentration levels. The experimental layout composed a 5 x 3 x 3 Randomized Complete Block Design arrangement, with treatment levels: 1 MGY, 2 MGY, 4 MGY, and 6 MGY, selectively allotted to the different accession based on a preliminary dosimetry test. Morphological data were recorded and subsequently leaves samples subjected to Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) extraction and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. The results show that except for inflorescence weight, other morphological data were not statistically significant. However, RAPD techniques identify some variations induced by x-ray particles on the different accessions. Ogbunike accession irradiated with 4 MGY appears to show the optimum concentration of x-ray particles required to induce genetic variability in A. hybridus. These findings are of paramount importance to plant breeders, whose primary tool is to identify variations to produce better yielding varieties