The umbu-cajazeira (Spondias sp.) is a native fruit of the Brazilian Semiarid, still in the process of domestication, whose fruits have excellent prospects for commercial utilization. The objective of this study was to characterize the genetic variability among accessions of umbu-cajazeira from the Active Germplasm Bank of Tropical Fruits of Embrapa Cassava & Fruits, using ISSR markers. Seventeen accessions of umbu-cajazeira were analyzed, which produced a total of 249 bands, out of which 201 were polymorphic bands and 48 bands were monomorphic. The genetic dissimilarity among accessions ranged from 0.247 to 0.665. The UPGMA (Unweighted Pair-Group Method Average) method grouped the accessions into five groups, showing that 'Preciosa' and 'Suprema' were the most similar accessions. The greatest dissimilarity was observed between the accessions 'Esperança' and 'Pomar'. It was found a high degree of polymorphism, which demonstrates the efficiency of ISSR markers, indicating that these can be successfully used for molecular germplasm characterization and in future breeding studies with this fruit crop. There is considerable genetic variability among the umbu-cajazeira accessions of the Active Germplasm Bank of Tropical Fruits, which can be used for conservation and cultivar improvement.
Spondias sp.; molecular markers; genetic divergence; Anacardiaceae
