Dr. Daniel K. Dzidzienyo
PhD, Molecular Biology, Nottingham
Deputy Director, Administration, Teaching, and Learning (ATL), WACCI
Senior Lecturer, Biotechnology Centre,University of Ghana
Deputy Centre Leader, WACCI-Africa Centre of Excellence (ACE) project
Profile Grant Funded Research Research and Teaching Pulications
Research Focus
Research interest includes the applications of innovative techniques for the genetic improvement of crop plants and the use of modern molecular techniques for improving the quality of staple crops particularly root and tuber crops for food and nutrition security in Africa.
Teaching
Courses taught at the University of Ghana
Postgraduate
WACI 719 Plant Molecular Biology 2020 – date
WACI 708 Plant Cell Tissue Culture 2020 – date
CROP 615 Plant Tissue Culture 2020 – date
CROP 703 Plant Cell Tissue Culture 2020 – date
CROP 704 Laboratory Instrumentation 2017 – date
WACI 608 Seed Trade, Policies and Regulations 2017 – date
CROP 630 Molecular Plant Pathology 2016 – date
WACI 607 Crop Improvement and Biotechnology 2015 – date
CROP 616 Principles of Gene Manipulation 2013 – date
CROP 613 Molecular Genetics 2013 – 2015
WACI 703 Biotechnology in Plant Breeding 2013 – 2019
Undergraduate
AGRC 312 Principles of Biotechnology 2013 – date
CROP 433 Molecular Biology 2013 – date
Diploma
HORT 021 Crop Improvement 2015 – 2019
Supervision
PhD Thesis Supervision Committees
NAME | TITLE | YEAR OF COMPLETION |
Diallo Chiaka | Genetic Analysis of Grain Yield and Related Traits in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Under Phosphorus Deficient Field Conditions in Southern Mali | 2017 |
Dieni Zakaria | Genetic Analysis of Resistance of Cowpea (Vignaunguiculata (L.) Walp.) to Alectra vogelii Benth. In Burkina Faso | 2017 |
Bathe Diop | Genetic Characterization of Tolerance to Ferrous Iron Toxicity in West African Rice Cultivars | 2017 |
Kayondo Siraj Ismail | Genetic Analysis and Selection Strategies for Improvement of Farmer Preferred Traits in Cassava | 2017 |
Akaogu Ijeoma Chinyere | Genetic Analysis of Drought Tolerant Early Maturing White Maize (Zea mays L.) Inbreds with Striga Resistance Genes from Zea diploperennis | 2017 |
Kumba Yannah Karim | Genetic Analysis for High Starch, Dry Matter Content and Storage Root Yield in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) | 2017 |
Ousmane Seyni Diakite | Breeding Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] for High Quality Stover for Niger | 2018 |
Saba Baba Mohammed | Genetic Improvement of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) for Phosphorus Use Efficiency | 2018 |
Essohouna Modom Banla | Characterization of Cultivated Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and Genetic Analysis of Late Leaf Spot Resistance in Togo | 2018 |
Gmakouba Tighankoumi | Genetic Improvement of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) for Cassava Mosaic Disease Resistance in Togo | 2019 |
Bassirou Sani Boubacar Gaoh | Genetic Studies on Grain Iron and Zinc concentration and Agronomic Traits in West African Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] Germplasm | 2019 |
Asare Kwabena Bediako | Genetic Improvement of Locally Adapted Groundnut Varieties for Resistance to Pre-Harvest Aflatoxin Contamination in Ghana | 2019 |
Vangahun Juliana Mariama | Genetic Studies of Salinity Tolerance of Mangrove Rice Varieties in Sierra Leone | 2019 |
Uchendu Ugochukwu Kelechi | Genome-Wide Association Mapping and Stability Analysis of Root Mealiness in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) | 2021 |
Sikiru Adeniyi Atanda | Development of Efficient Protocols for Training Population Design and Resource Allocation for Genomic Selection in CIMMYT Tropical Maize Breeding Programme | 2021 |
Aboagye Benjamin Danso | Breeding groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) for resistance to the Late Leaf Spots Disease in Ghana | 2022 |
Okwu Queen Udodirim | Breeding for Improved Starch Quality Traits in Cassava | 2022 |
ABAH Simon Peter | Genomic Assisted Cassava Breeding for Early Storage Root Formation and Bulking Under Invasive and Non-Invasive Phenotyping System | 2023 |
MBE Joseph Okpani | Genomic Studies for Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency in Cassava (Manihot Esculenta Crantz) | 2023 |
MREMA Emmanuel Frank | Breeding for Resistance to Cassava Brown Streak Disease | 2024* |
WEMBABAZI Enoch | Genetic Analysis of Texture and Related Properties of Cassava Storage Roots | 2024* |
Abiodun Olayinka | Genetics of Plant Architecture and its Effect on Yield in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) | 2024* |
Solomon Otu Ayeboafo | Development of Cassava Mosaic Disease Resistance varieties through mutation induction and genetic transformation | 2024* |
Abincha Wilfred Magangi | Genomic and Transcriptomic Investigations for Cassava Biofortification with Pro-vitamin A Carotenoid in Kenya | 2025* |
Opuni Muhammed | Genome wide association studies of nitrogen use efficiency and yield related traits in rice landraces and wild relatives | 2025* |
Omotola Dorcas Olaoye | Genetic studies of cassava product (Gari) quality traits | 2026* |
Joseph Pascal Sene | Genetic improvement of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench] for post flowering drought tolerance | 2026* |
*Expected year of graduation
MPhil Thesis Supervision Committees
NAME | TITLE | YEAR OF GRADUATION |
Benjamin Aboagye Danso | Introgression of Cowpea Aphid resistance gene into susceptible cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) (L.) Walp) Cultivars through Marker Assisted Backcrosses | 2016 |
Iddrisu Baba Adam | Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Sorghum (Sorghum biocolor (L.) Moench) Cultivars in the Northern Ghana | 2016 |
Amihere Kwame Blay Nwaleh | The Role of Quality Seed in Rice Production – A case study of the Dawhenya Irrigation Scheme | 2018 |
Gariba Yakubu Samuel | Assessment of Four Plant Extracts as Mazie Seed Storage Protectants Against Sitophilus zeamais and Prostephanus truncatus in Ghana | 2018 |
Mariama Hamidu | Effect of Seed Extraction Methods and Seed Storage Temperatures on the Quality of Garden Egg (Solanum aethiopicum) Seeds | 2018 |
Kwakyewaa Nuako | Priming of Rice Seeds for Improvement in Germination and Adaptation to Drought Stress | 2019 |
Tsamenyi Harrison | Evaluation of F2 Populations of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Genotypes for Drought Tolerance and High Yield | 2019 |
Johnson Antwi Adom | Assessment of the Quality of Marketed Certified Vegetable Seeds in Original Package and those Repackaged at Retailers’ end in the Ashanti Region of Ghana | 2019 |
Koomson Isaac Appiah-Asare | The Groundnut Seed System and Adoption of Improved Varieties in Northern Ghana | 2020 |
Joyce Kobia | Effects of Post-Emergence Herbicides on Seed Quality and Yield-Related Traits of Maize Inbred Lines | 2021 |
Emmanuel Amponsah | Molecular Detection of Cassava Mosaic Begomoviruses and its Associated Satellites in Northern Ghana | 2022 |
Hounnou Amele Aurore | Seed Viability and Phenotypic Diversity of World Vegetable Center’s Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) Collection | 2023 |
Francis Mirara | Effects of Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens D203 in the Management of Rice Blast Disease Magnaporthe Oryzae (Anamorph) Pyricularia Grisea in Rice in Kenya | 2023 |
Konadu Jonathan Attah | Isolation and molecular characterization of Aspergilus niger and Aspergillus flavus in store maize (Obatanpa and Pannar maize) in Ghana | 2024* |
Jessica Naa Offeibea Dodoo | The effects of seed priming and storage environments on seed germination and seedling establishment of Cleome gynandra L | 2026* |
Samuel Wristberg | Assessment of some seed quality parameters of retailed maize and soyabean seeds after certification in the five northern regions of Ghana | 2026* |
*Expected year of graduation
Undergraduate Thesis Supervision Committees
NAME | TITLE | YEAR OF GRADUATION |
George Nii O. Sackey | Morphological and Molecular Characterization of some Rice Accessions using SSR Markers | 2015 |
Ocloo Edem | Screening of some Cassava Germplasms for Cassava Mosaic Disease | 2015 |
Sey Dominic Kobina | Phenotypic and Molecular Screening of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Germplasm for Resistant to Cassava Bacterial Blight | 2016 |
Ofoe Rapheal | Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Xanthomonas campestris infecting Mango Ghana | 2016 |
Obirih-Opareh Jennifer | Developing High Nodulating Bacteria for Soyabean (Glycine max (L.) merr) using Transposons Mutagenesis | 2016 |
Mercy Korkor Azanu | Molecular Screening of some Tomato Accessions for Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Disease (TYLCD) Resistance Gene | 2017 |
Galley Christopher | Molecular Characterization of Selected Maize Hybrids in Ghana using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) Markers | 2017 |
Abbey Abraham Anartey | Molecular Identification of Xanthomonas campestris pv. Mangiferae indica and Evaluation of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Germplasms for Resistance to the Bacterium in the Coastal Savanna Zone of Ghana | 2017 |
Lawrence Afenyi Arhin | Genetic Diversity of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Using SSR Marker | 2017 |
Asare Benedict Tetteh | Molecular Characterization of Maize Inbred Lines for Resistance to Maize Streak Virus Disease | 2019 |
Basakeng Baayor Peter | Agro-morphological Characterization of some Biofortified Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Accessions | 2023 |
Asare Joseph Osei | Evaluation of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Genotypes for Yield and Morphological Traits | 2023 |
