Abstract:
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is an important resource to the national economy and it is
essential to assess the genetic diversity in existing sorghum germplasm for better conservation, utilization
and crop improvement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of genetic diversity
within and among sorghum germplasms collected from diverse institutes in Nigeria and Mali using
Single Nucleotide Polymorphic markers. Genetic diversity among the germplasm was low with an
average polymorphism information content value of 0.24. Analysis of Molecular Variation revealed
6% variation among germplasm and 94% within germplasms. Dendrogram revealed three groups of
clustering which indicate variations within the germplasms. Private alleles identified in the sorghum
accessions from National Center for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Ibadan, Nigeria and
International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Kano, Nigeria shows their prospect
for sorghum improvement and discovery of new agronomic traits. The presence of private alleles
and genetic variation within the germplasms indicates that the accessions are valuable resources
for future breeding programs.
