Euphorbia heterophylla is an important weed affecting the performance of annual and perennial crops. It is native from tropical and subtropical regions in the American continent, and has been detected at high densities in 20 different countries worldwide, and at low densities in other 40 countries. In Brazil, it has been inclued among the ten most important weeds affecting different crops, causing yield losses up to 33% in soybean fields. Phenotypically, this species is extremely variable, especially in relation to leaf shape and size, which can vary among and within populations. This variability suggested to several authors that E. heterophylla was, in fact, formed by different species. To systematize the study of E. heterophylla and to determine if the phenotypic variability correspond to modifications at the DNA level, we analyzed 10 different plants collected in the soybean field in Londrina (Parana, Brazil). The plants were transplanted to the greenhouse and leaf DNA was extracted for RAPD technique analysis. Twenty-six RAPD "primers" different amplified 102 DNA bands, 38 of them being polymorphic. Genetic distances among the individuals were calculated based on the presence (1) or absence (0) of those bands. Cluster analyses divided the plants into two distinct groups considering an upper limit of 22% relative genetic distance. The genetic distances among the plants were between 1 and 39%, in agreement with the variability obseved at the morphological level.
Molecular markers; genetic divergence; Brazil; wild poisentia