Customisation of AFLP analysis for cassava varietal identification

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used in the characterization of eight cassava varieties. This non-radioactive AFLP system was customized in terms of the choice of restriction enzymes used and the selection of nucleotides added to the 3′ end of primers. EcoRI/ MseI and HindIII/ MseI fragments generally gave monomorphic profiles while ApaI/ TaqI fragments produced polymorphic profiles suggesting a genome with high G+C content. It was possible to identify the eight cassava varieties used in this study using CTG as selective bases at the TaqI primer. For cassava, the AFLP system provided a higher number of loci detected per run when compared to RAPD. The reliability accompanying AFLP analysis would thus make it suitable for the characterization of cassava varieties.