Evaluation of genetic diversity of okra accessions [Abelmoschus esculentus (L. Moench)] cultivated in Burkina Faso using microsatellite markers

Okra is a traditional vegetable grown throughout Burkina Faso. Despite a food and non-food valorization of all parts of the plant, its genetic diversity is still little known. Thus, 50 accessions of okra from Burkina Faso were characterized using 19 microsatellite markers in order to determine the level and structure of genetic diversity. The results reveal a total of 34 alleles including 3 rare alleles and a number of 2.58 effective alleles. A polymorphic information content (PIC) value between 0.11 and 0.86 and markers polymorphism rate of 42.10% were also obtained. Mean expected heterozygosity and Shannon diversity index were 0.46 and 0.77, respectively. In addition, a structuring of the 50 accessions in three genetic groups with indices of very similar accessions of 88 to 95% between climatic zones and 83 to 95% between ethnic groups were observed. The diversity obtained could be exploited in the program of selection and varietal improvement of okra.   Key words: Genetic variability, simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers, varietal selection, valorization, genetic differentiation.