MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF LOCAL TURKISH CIRGALAN PEPPER GENOTYPES VIA SRAP MARKERS

Cırgalan pepper is a local cultivar that has been grown in Kayseri for many years, consumed as powdered pepper after being dried and has essential value for the spice market. However, these cultivars have lost their production areas because of yield and quality losses. As in other local varieties, the variety in question also shows significant variation in production areas due to open pollination. It is essential to establish breeding programs to utilize the existing variation in local varieties and to increase yield and quality parameters. The first stage of pepper breeding is the characterization of present genotypes. In this study, molecular characterization of genotypes of Cırgalan pepper collected from pepper production areas of Kayseri province was aimed. In this study, 32 pepper genotypes were subjected to DNA analysis using 14 SRAP primer combinations, identifying 79 total bands. The highest number of bands was obtained from the primer combination Me13-Em14 (9), while the lowest number of bands was obtained from the primer combinations Me9-Em6 and Me12-Em8 (3). The average polymorphism rate was 29.3%, with the highest polymorphism rate observed for the Me12-Em4 primer combination (60%). The PIC values of the markers varied broadly, from 0,01 (for primer combination Me9-Em6) to 0,51 (Me13-Em14), with a mean of 0.30. Genetic similarity was determined between 0.67-1.00. This study showed genetic differences among Cırgalan pepper genotypes produced in the Kayseri region. With breeding programs in light of these results, it can be helpful to increase production areas of this cultivar, which was adopted in the Kayseri region after obtaining disease resistance, in addition to improving the yield and quality of this cultivar. Keywords: Capsicum annuum, Cırgalan pepper, SRAP, molecular characterization