Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the black pepper, Piper nigrum L. (piperaceae)

The black pepper, Piper nigrum L., which originated in India, is the World's most important commercial spice. Brazil has a germplasm collection of this species preserved at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa-Eastern Amazonia) where efforts are being made to generation information on the patterns of genetic variation and develop strategies for conservation and management of black pepper. Molecular markers of the SSR type are powerful tools for the description of material preserved in genetic resources banks, due to characteristics such as high levels of polymorphism, codominance and Mendelian segregation. Given this, we developed nine microsatellite markers from an enriched library of Piper nigrum L. Twenty varieties clonal from the Brazilian germplasm collection were analyzed, and observed and expected heterozygosity values ranged over 0.11-1.00 and 0.47-0.87, respectively. The nine microsatellite loci characterized here will contribute to studies of genetic diversity and conservation of Piper nigrum L.