Genetic diversity in passion fruit plants at different altitudes
Passion fruit belongs to the Passifloraceae family and to the genus Passiflora, which is economically relevant. This genus is originated from Brazil, which has the greatest genetic diversity. The altitudinal gradient may influence the distribution of genetic variation in and between plant populations and genetic diversity may change according to the altitude. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity in passion fruit in different altitudes of Espírito Santo, using microsatellite markers (SSR) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR). Five matrixes plants of each species of Passiflora edulis Sims f. flavicarpa Degener, P. edulis Sims and P. alata Curtis were studied at three altitudes (low, medium and high) in the state of Espírito Santo. For each sample, 13 microsatellite markers developed for Passiflora edulis and 14 ISSR primers were amplified according to the greatest number of polymorphic fragments and amplification quality. Low values of alleles were found (1-3), and low heterozygosity was expected and slight PIC values were found, while for the ISSR analysis a large number of bands per primer were detected and high polymorphism. The P. alata Curtis species was the most divergent to P. edulis Sims f. flavicarpa Deg. and P. edulis Sims. The SSR and ISSR markers enabled us to indicate differences among the species, but they did not always show variation between and within similar species. The populations of low altitude are different from the others, independent of the species and the marker used. The habitat has a highly important influence on genetic diversity.