Population structure in diverse pepper (Capsicum spp.) accessions

Abstract

Background: Peppers, bell and chile, are a culturally and economically important worldwide. Domesticated Capsicum spp. are distributed globally and represent a complex of valuable genetic resources. Objectives: Explore population structure and diversity in a collection of 467 peppers representing eight species, spanning the spectrum from highly domesticated to wild using 22,916 SNP markers distributed across the twelve chromosomes of pepper. Results: These species contained varied levels of genetic diversity, which also varied across chromosomes; the species also differ in the size of genetic bottlenecks they have experienced. We found that levels of diversity negatively correlate to levels of domestication, with the more diverse being the least domesticated.