A single molecular marker to distinguish between species of Dioscorea.

Yams are species of the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae), which consists of approximately 630 species. The majority of the world production of yams occurs in Africa with 58.8 million t annually, but they are also produced in the Americas and Asia. The saponins in yams have been reported to possess various properties to improve health. The tuber and aerial parts of various species often share morphological similarities, which can cause problems in the proper identification of sample material. For example, the rootstocks and aerial parts of Dioscorea villosa L. share similarities with Dioscorea polystachia Turcz. Dioscorea bulbifera L. may be mistaken for Dioscorea alata L. owing to similar morphologies. Various molecular analyses have been published to help with the identification of species and varieties within the genus Dioscorea. The multi-loci or single-locus analysis has resulted in varying success, some with only a limited discrimination rate. In the present study, a single nuclear genomic region, biparentally inherited, was analyzed for its usefulness as a molecular marker for species identification and discrimination between D. bulbifera, D. villosa, D. nipponica, D. alata, D. caucasica, and D. deltoidea samples. The results of this study show that the LFY genomic region can be useful as a molecular marker to distinguish between samples.