Genetic polymorphism among natural populations of Anacardium humile A. ST-HIL

Abstract The genus Anacardium presents nine species, of these, three have sub-bush size, common in the Cerrado of the Center-West of Brazil. The objective of this work was to evaluate the genetic variability of the species, collected in eleven provenances, using RAPD markers. Genomic DNA from 122 accessions was extracted and amplified with 25 decamer primers. The results indicated polymorphism, ranging from 77.71% to 96.18%. The distribution of genetic diversity among and within populations shows that 27.14% of the variability is found between populations and 37.44% within the populations, suggesting the existence of genetic variability that may be related to the reproductive strategies adopted by the species throughout its evolution. The index of variation within the provenances (93.36%) was higher than the index found among populations (6.64%). Molecular analysis indicated that there is genetic divergence between and within the studied populations of Anacardium humile A. St. - Hill. The origin of Itajá-GO presented the highest genetic diversity, presenting the highest values of genetic diversity index, phenotypic diversity and higher percentage of polymorphic loci.