In Chile Vasconcellea pubescens is cropped to produce canned fruit, juice, jam and processed sweets. Additionally this species produces latex with a high level of papain, an important and valuable proteolytic enzyme with industrial applications. In this investigation seven ISSR primers were used to study the level and organization of genetic diversity in 333 samples of V. pubescens. Out of the 114 bands recorded, 63 proved to be polymorphic (P = 55.3%). At the species level, the genetic diversity was rather low (h = 0.01 ± 6,80188E-05, Shannon's Index I = 0.16 ± 0,000148). The major portion of the genetic diversity was found within groups (65%). The genetic differentiation between the different groups was significant, as the AMOVA analysis suggested (U pt = 0.35). When analysing the Northern area alone, the differentiation increased to U pt = 0.40. When only the Southern area was analysed, U pt decreased to 0.18, indicating greater genetic similarity among the samples. The results generated from Structure and Bayesian Analysis of Population Structure distinguished 8 genetically different groups, five of them located in the north and three in the south. The results are discussed in the light of the growers' practices.

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