RAPD molecular markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity in a progeny of 94 hybrids between 'Cravo' mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) and 'Pêra' sweet orange (C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck), obtained by controlled pollination. One hundred two random decamer primers were screened, amplifying 640 fragments, 77.2% monomorphics between the parents. The Jaccard coefficient was used to estimate the genetic similarity among the hybrids, the UPGMA method to establish the phenogram (NTSYS 1.7) and the software BOOD to determine the significance of each cluster. The results indicated that 'Pêra' sweet orange heterozygosity degree is higher than 'Cravo' mandarin, with 180 and 126 loci in heterozygose, respectively. It was observed high genetic similarity between the parents, characterized by the low degree of RAPD polymorphism. Significant statistic groups were not established among the hybrids and the parents, showing that the hybrid genetic constitution was originated by independent RAPD markers segregation. Then, the ligation effect was broken because of the sample size. Hybrids with high genetic similarity degree in relation to 'Cravo' mandarin and 'Pêra' sweet orange could be easily selected using RAPD markers.
citrus fruits; genetic markers; heterozygotes; genetic variation
