Abstract

The sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam has its origin in Tropical America. In Sergipe State (Brazil), its production is very important, and to explore its potential in local agriculture in the State, the Embrapa Coastal Tableland created a collection with 52 accessions located in Umbaúba City. Some accessions were from germplasm belonging to Embrapa vegetables and others from local farmers of Sergipe. Here, we provide the first data on the genetic diversity and structure of sweet potato collection of SPGB using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. RAPD data were used to determine genetic variability via a model-based Bayesian procedure (structure) and molecular variance analysis (AMOVA). In addition, Shannon index, genetic diversity and Jaccard coefficients were also estimated.  RAPD was efficient for the analysis of genetic diversity to identify groups and measure the genetic distance between accessions. The markers showed that the collection had a high level of polymorphism. By UPGMA, we separated three groups of genotypes and identified two reconstructed populations by structure software.

Key words: Ipomoea batatas, cultivars, accessions.