Thesis (BS Biology) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, 2005

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to determine the banding of different samples of sago in selected areas of Mindanao and Cebu and to find if there is a difference between spiny and spineless sago species at the molecular level. The study was carried out using 5 different RAPD primers on 11 sago samples. Of these samples, 4 were spineless sago palms while the rest were spiny. For each sample, 5 replicates were amplified to verify that samples in an area are one and the same. However, sago samples from Monkayo had only 4 replicates while Langtad and Malinglingon had 4 and 3 replicates, respectively. In total, 51 samples were amplified per primer. A total of 248 bands were scored from all the primers. The banding patterns were similar in sago sampled from the same location even if these have different morphological characteristics. The result suggests that both spiny and spineless sago palms should be named as Metroxylon sagu. A cluster analysis using the neighbor-joining. UPGMA and parsimony methods were conducted based on the RAPD data. UPGMA and parsimony methods generated similar and more precise dendogram. From the dendograms, three groups were evident. The first group includes samples from Monkayo, Compostela Valley and Agusan del Sur, the second cluster composed of samples from Davao City and Davao del Sur and the third cluster is composed of samples from Cebu. Morphological characteristics did not have an effect on the banding patterns of sago. The genetic distance of sago palm population was related to the geographical distance