SSR Based Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Hot Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Genotypes from Central Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia

Genetic diversity assessment and estimation of relationship among genotypes at DNA level are very helpful for germplasm conservation and improvement in breeding programs. This study was carried out to assess the genetic variability of 57 hot pepper genotypes using SSR markers. Thirteen SSR markers generated a total of 106 scorable alleles; ranging from 5 to 14 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content indices were highly variable and ranged from 0.21 to 0.81, with an average of 0.68. The gene diversity was wider in range, 0.21 to 0.83, which implies an immense variability in the population. The overall percentage of polymorphic bands (73.4%), genetic diversity (H=0.53) and Shannon’s diversity information index (I=0.60) showed high level of variation in the analysed genotypes. The Nei’s genetic distance ranging from 0.108 to 0.925 indicated presence of nearly identical genotypes to a diverse relationship. Clustering, principal coordinate and STRUCTURE analysis results indicated that most genotypes clustered together with no clear separation based on zones, this underlines the importance of considering genetic variation across genotypes rather than focusing on collection sites. The finding confirmed the presence of genetic diversity which provides baseline information for conservation, utilization and breeding.