The genus Capsicum comprises richness in morphological and genetic aspects. Studies of genetic diversity about this kind of genus are necessary to a further understanding about species, besides discoveries about new information in Capsicum germplasm banks. This study aimed to analyze the genetic variability of three species of Capsicum (9 accessions) from the Active Germplasm Bank of the Federal University of Piaui (BAGC). We used the technique of isozyme electrophoresis in starch gel for the analysis of five isozyme systems (ACP, GPI, IDH, MDH and PGM). As a result seven enzymatic loci and 13 alleles were detected, considering that, five alleles were exclusive, three were in the C. annuum var. glabriusculum (Gpi(c), Idh(a) and Acp(b)) sample, and the others were found in the C. baccatum var. pendulum (Pgm-1(b) and Pgm-2(b)) sample. All samples had polymorphic loci. The average number of alleles per locus varied between 1.4286 and 1. The calculated identities and Nei (1972) genetic distance showed a differentiation among the species. The constructed UPGMA dendrogram showed that the samples were grouped into two sets: C. annuum var. glabriusculum + C. chinense and C. baccatum var. pendulum. Therefore we concluded that the genetic diversity in the analyzed accessions is low and the methods used in this study are effective to differentiate species of Capsicum, proving the great diversity present in the genus Capsicum.
isozyme; genetic variability
