RAPD markers assisted varietal identification and genetic purity test in pepper, Capsicum annuum

The potential of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers in varietal identification and genetic purity test of hybrid varieties was evaluated. Five Jalepeno hybrid varieties and their corresponding parents were screened for polymorphic RAPD markers with 12 arbitrary 10-mer primers. Among a total of 177 bands observed, 14 bands contributed by nine primers were polymorphic in the five pepper varieties. Furthermore, four RAM markers were found to be cultivar-specific markers for three hybrid varieties. Out of the 12 primers, six primers generated 11 useful RAPD markers to determine seed purity of all tested hybrid varieties. In conclusion, RAPD markers maybe useful for cultivar identification and hybrid purity test in pepper, Capsicum annuum, especially for routine seed quality control programme. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.