Assessment of molecular diversity of Brassica oleracea var. acephala

Family Brassicaceae is abundant in species used in food production, but also contains many industrial species, vegetables and ornamentals. Green collard (Brassica oleracea var. acephala L.) was traditionally grown in Balkan Peninsula and its wide green leaves, rich in vitamins A and C, are used for cooking. There is great diversity in B. oleracea acephala germplasm that reflects on agronomic, morphological and molecular characteristics. In this study, was assessed genetic variation of 38 accessions of green collard out of which 3 accessions were standard/commercial varieties and 35 were locally grown populations, collected in Western Balkan: 18 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 8 from Serbia (Vojvodina), 7 from Croatia and two from Montenegro. Genetic diversity was assessed using twelve species-specific SSR markers (Simple Sequence Repeats) originating from B. oleracea (8), B. rapa (2) and B. napus (2). Each accession was represented with four individual samples