Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is a monocotyledonous herbaceous vine plant grown in the tropics and subtropics. It is a multi-species plant with varied intra- and interspecific ploidy levels. Of the 600 species, 11 are cultivated supporting the livelihood of over 300 million people. The paucity of information on ploidy and the genomic constitution is a significant challenge to the crop’s genetic improvement through crossbreeding. The objective of this study was to investigate the ploidy levels of 236 accessions across six cultivated and two wild species using chromosome counting, flow cytometry and genotyping-based ploidy determination methods. Results obtained from chromosome counting and genotyping-based ploidy determination were in agreement. In majority of the accessions, chromosome counting and flow cytometry were congruent, allowing future rapid screening of ploidy levels using flow cytometry. Among cultivated accessions, 168 (71%) were diploid, 50 (21%) were triploid, and 12 (5%) were tetraploid. Two wild species included in the study were diploids. Resolution of ploidy level in yams offers opportunities for implementing successful breeding programmes through intra- and interspecific hybridization.

https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11101897

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Asrat Asfawhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4859-0631

Michael Abbertonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2555-9591

Badara GUEYEhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3157-8772

Robert Asieduhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8943-2376

David De Koeyerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8064-6538

Ranjana Bhattacharjeehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5184-5930

https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11101897

Biotech and Plant Breeding

Agronomy; Food Security; Plant Breeding; Plant Production; Value Chains; Yam

Yams; Flow Cytometry; Chromosomes; Ploidy; West Africa

Africa; West Africa

Benin (Dahomey); Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast); Gabon; Ghana; Guinea; Nigeria; Republic of the Congo; Sierra Leone; Togo

Headquarters and Western Africa Hub

Agronomy