An Assessment of Genetic Diversity Within a Collection of Cassava (Manihot

Cassava (A4uiiihot esculenru Crantz) cDNA clones were used to detect restriction fragment length polymorphisms in a collection of Manihr germplasm maintained as in vitro plants at ORSTOM, Montpellier. The collection consisted of mostly African cultivars of M . esculerifu, together with a few A4. gluziovii Mueller von Argau and M. cuerulescens Pohl, and some interspecific hybrids between M. esculerztu and M. gluziovii. The clones revealed significant levels of polymorphism both within and between the species; sufficient to construct dendrograms indicating the genetic diversity within the collection.