The Santa Catarina State Agricultural Research and Extension Organization - Epagri SA, owns one of the largest Brazilian colletions of erva-mate (Ilex paraguariensis St.Hil.). Preliminary agronomic trials identified two promissing erva-mate materials named as Barão de Cotegipe and Água Doce. This study had the objective of characterizing genetically the existing variability in the two mentioned materials. A molecular marker technique was used to amplify the DNA, RAPD (Random Amplified Polimorfic DNA). The results showed no genetic difference between the two materials. Also, due to the genetic distance between them, the different materials from both studied origins showed genetic similarity of up to 80%.
Ilex paraguariensis; genetic variability; molecular markers; DNA; RAPD; PCR
