Genetic characterization of cotton landraces found in the Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte states

The objective of this study was to estimate genetic diversity of cotton mocó planted in Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte using microsatellite markers, since mocó landraces are a valuable source of genetic diversity. A set of 38 accessions - 21 plants from Rio Grande do Norte and 17 from Paraiba - was analyzed using 24 pairs of cotton microsatellite primers, which amplified 20 polymorphic loci. The average inbreeding was 0.432, and was slightly higher in individuals from Paraíba than from Rio Grande do Norte. Genetic diversity (Nei´s unbiased estimator) between individuals from each state's populations had similar values (HT = 0.327 and 0.302 in Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte, respectively), indicating that comparable variability has been maintained. Moreover, the proportion of diversity between populations was extremely low (DST = 0.007), but expressive between mesoregions (DST = 0.069). These data led us to conclude that the genetic similarities between populations are high.