<span name="style_bold">Molecular characterization of cultivated and wild accessions of common bean from Honduras. </span>To determinate the genetic diversity of the <span name="style_italic">Phaseolus </span>collection maintained at Zamorano´s Germplasm Bank, 69 accessions of common bean (<span name="style_italic">Phaseolus vulgaris </span>L.) and <span name="style_italic">P. coccineus </span>from Honduras were evaluated with 30 primers using the RAPD (Randomized Amplified Polymorphic DNA) marker technique, generating 341 DNA polymorphic fragments. The study was conducted during 2008-09 in Zamorano; Honduras. The genetic distances were determined by the Dice coefficient (or similarity index) and the UPGMA method. These molecular analyses identified two groups at 0.48 Dice Coefficient (DC), one belonging to the <span name="style_italic">P. vulgaris </span>species and the other to <span name="style_italic">P. coccineu</span>s. The group of <span name="style_italic">P. vulgaris </span>accessions shows a clear division (DC of 0.64) between the Andean and the Mesoamerican pools. In the other hand, the Mesoamerican accessions show a separation (DC of 0.76) of four groups corresponding to the wild accessions, the cultivars from the race Jalisco, and the improved and the landrace cultivars from the race Mesoamerica. The results confirmed the expected genetic distances, including a greater distance among the accessions of the two <span name="style_italic">Phaseolus </span>species, followed by a good separation of the accessions from the Andean and Mesoamerican <span name="style_italic">P. vulgaris </span>gene pools. At the Mesoamerican gene pool level, the two accessions from the Jalisco race are less similar from the accessions belonging to the Mesoamerican race; and within the Mesoamerican race, the wild are separated from the cultivated accessions; additionally, in the cultivated the improved are relatively different from the landrace accessions.gene pools. At the Mesoamerican gene pool level, the two accessions from the Jalisco race are less similar from the accessions belonging to the Mesoamerican race; and within the Mesoamerican race, the wild are separated from the cultivated accessions; additionally, in the cultivated the improved are relatively different from the landrace accessions.

Phaseolus vulgaris; P. coccineus; genetic diversity; RAPD markers