Genetic Diversity in Purslane (Portulaca Spp.) Using Simple Sequence Repeat Molecular Markers

Purslane ( Portulaca spp.) is a shrub-like plant that exhibits variation in the coloration of its leaves, stems, and flowers. Among its various attributes are its potential as an ornamental plant, its use in medicine, and its incorporation into human diets. Due to its importance, it has been the subject of studies in several breeding programs. For this purpose, molecular markers based on the Polymerase Chain Reaction are used, among which Simple Sequence Repeat markers stand out due to their codominant nature, consisting of repetitive, non-coding DNA regions made up of short tandem repeats (1–6 base pairs). Within this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of Portulaca spp. genotypes from the active germplasm bank of the Center for Agricultural Sciences at the Federal University of Paraíba, using Simple Sequence Repeat molecular markers. The experiment was conducted in the plant biotechnology laboratory of the Center for Agricultural Sciences/Campus II, located in the city of Areia. A total of 65 accessions from five purslane species were used.For DNA extraction, the method of Doyle & Doyle (1987), with modifications, was employed. Ten primer pairs were used, resulting in the amplification of 2,489 bands distributed across 187 loci, with 89.30% polymorphism. Based on the obtained data, the accessions PU16, PU28, and PU31 of Portulaca umbraticola ; PO02 and PO08 of Portulaca oleracea ; PA01 and PA02 of Portulaca amilis ; and PG01 and PG03 of Portulaca grandiflora are suggested as potential parental lines.