Abstract:
Carissa edulis is a tropical plant belonging to the family Apocynaceae. e species is widely used in the preparation of various herbal
medicines. Earlier works in Kenya show that an aqueous extract from the roots of C. edulis has remarkable anti-herpes simplex virus.
Due to its medicinal value, the species has been overexploited in its natural range and requires conservation interventions. Studies
show that the species has beneficial relationships with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) that can enhance restoration of its
population; however, no study has been undertaken to document the diversity of these AMF species. is study evaluated the genetic
diversity of AMF associated with the roots of C. edulis within Lake Victoria basin ecosystem of Kenya. A cross-sectional, laboratory
based prospective study was carried out from roots of C. edulis collected from six sites within the ecosystem. Root samples were
collected from 6 points (replicates) per site. AMF was assessed through morphological characterization and sequencing of small
subunit of ribosomal DNA. Morphological identification identified four genera of AMF (Gigaspora, Acaulospora, Scutellospora, and
Glomus) with no significant difference among the sites. Molecular analysis also revealed presence of four genera, but only two
(Glomus and Acaulospora) were common for both the analyses with Glomus as the most predominant genera. In all the sites, there
were large numbers of spores both in soil and in the roots confirming the association between C. edulis and AMF
