Somaclonal variation of regenerated plants in chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

The morphological and genetic variations in somaclones of chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) derived from tissue culture were evaluated. Cotyledonary node explants of cultivars, Shishitou and Takanotsume, were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with benzyladenine (BA) 5 mg/l for shoots regeneration and regenerated shoots were rooted on MS medium supplemented with naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) 0.1 mg/l and indol-3-butyric acid (IBA) 0.05 mg/l. The regenerated plants (R0) were selfed to obtain seeds for next generation (R1 lines). Qualitative characters were studied in R0 generation and both qualitative and quantitative characters were studied in R1 generation. In R0 generation, variations were noticed in plant growth habit, stem color, flower color and color of unripe fruits, and expression of anthocyanin in unripe fruits. Comparison among the R1 lines and their parents were made for morphological and agronomic characters. Significant variation among R1 lines and differences between R1 lines and their parents were observed. Genetic variations among three somaclones were revealed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Variation, such as early flowering and increase of yield components, is an indication of the response to selection for any specific character. Occurrence of productive variants among somaclones of established cultivars, like Shishitou and Takanotsume, indicates the possibility of their improvement through somaclonal variation.