Genetics

Research Proposals for 2002 - Group D

Can DNA be used to detect differences in Clivia?

South Africa has one of the most diverse floras in the world. Sadly, the full extent of our biodiversity is not properly understood and still poorly studied. This project will focus on one of our more attractive plant genera, Clivia. This genus consists out of five species, C. nobilis, C. caulescens, C. gardenii, C. mirabilis and C. miniata, which is the most widespread. Due to its attractive form this genus is attracting a lot of horticultural interest. Unfortunately very little is known about its genetic diversity. Modern molecular tools provide us with unique and powerful tools to measure genetic diversity. The chloroplast genome is known to be variable and thus useful for determining genetic diversity and identity. Individuals from various geographical localities will be screened to look for these differences. The resulting polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fragments will be digested with restriction enzymes and sequenced. In this way the amount of variation within C. miniata will be investigated.

Participants