ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY OF Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme IN VERACRUZ, MEXICO

Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme is widely distributed in Veracruz, Mexico, and represents genetic material that must be evaluated as a genetic pool of groups of tomato plants that can be used in a management program. The objective of the study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of S. l. var. cerasiforme from 12 sites in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, using SSR markers. DNA was extracted from the leaf tissue of tomato plants from 12 sites of occurrence and their genetic diversity was evaluated using 14 SSR markers, amplified with the polymerase chain reaction technique, and visualized in polyacrylamide gels. Genetic diversity and structure were with POPgene, FSTAT, GenAlex, STRUCTURE, and STRUCTURE Harvester software. With 73.74 % Polymorphic Information Content, the observed heterozygosity (Ho=0.2251) was lower than the heterozygosity within, between groups, and the total, an indicator of low genetic diversity, due to the high genetic differentiation coefficient (GST=0.743) The genetic differentiation index indicated 35 % differentiation (Fst= 0.655), with a low differentiation coefficient between (Fis= 0.209) and within groups (Fit= 0.727). In the dendrogram, four main groups and four subgroups were formed, related based on geographic-genetic distance. The groups of tomato plants showed genetic differentiation and may constitute valuable germplasm for genetic diversity management programs.