Analysis of microsatellite loci of the chloroplast genome in the genus Capsicum (pepper)

Six plastome microsatellites were examined in 43 accessions of the genus Capsicum. In total, 33 allelic variants were detected. A specific haplotype of chloroplast DNA was identified for each Capsicum species. Species-specific allelic variants were found for most wild Capsicum species. The highest intraspecific variation was observed for the C. baccatum plastome. Low cpDNA polymorphism was characteristic of C. annuum: the cpSSRs were either monomorphic or dimorphic. The vast majority of C. annuum accessions each had alleles of one type. Another allele type was rare and occurred only in wild accessions. The results testified again to genetic conservation of C. anuum and especially its cultivated forms. The phylogenetic relationships established for the Capsicum species on the basis of plastome analysis were similar to those inferred from the morphological traits, isozyme patterns, and molecular analysis of the nuclear genome.