Molecular diversity analysis of conserved Capsicum chinense Jacq. germplasm in Sri Lanka

Among the Capsicum species, Capsicum chinense has the highest pungency, the highest antioxidant activity and a wide genetic diversity. This study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity of C. chinense (Nai miris) germplasm conserved at the Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Gannoruwa, Sri Lanka. Twenty five C .chinense germplasm, two C. annuum, two C. frutescens and one C. baccatum were analysed using 27 Simple Sequence Repeat markers. Total number of amplified alleles was 108 which varied from 1 to 6 per locus. The mean polymorphism information content value was 0.46. Dendogram based on Nei’s genetic distances showed three main clusters where 88% of C. chinense germplasm was grouped into one cluster and C. annuum and C. frutescens were separated into two clusters. A high genetic diversity was observed within C. chinense cluster. The genetic diversity identified in this study will be useful for correct identification, conservation and breeding activities of Capsicum species.