Microsatellite and morpho-agronomic polymorphisms in eggplant and pepper: genotyping and identification of traditional cultivars

In the framework of a project for the conservation of local landraces threatened with extinction, we estimated genetic relationships and true cultivar identity of 7 and 25 accessions, respectively, of eggplant and pepper landraces from the Campania Region (Southern Italy). We used an integrated approach including SSR markers (15 for eggplant and 16 for pepper) and 9 morpho-agronomic biometric traits. Out of all the tested SSR markers, 5 and 7 markers showed polymorphism between landraces in eggplant and pepper, respectively, detecting 18 alleles in eggplant and 31 alleles in pepper. These markers generated the same genetic pattern for every accession of each investigated cultivar. Despite more markers may potentially detect polymorphism, these findings suggest an elevated genetic homogeneity between landraces. The morpho-agronomic traits investigated allowed only a partial discrimination of landraces and thus call for more detailed investigation.