ARS | Publication request: Transferability of apple EST-derived SSRs to other Rosaceae species

Submitted to: Plant and Animal Genome Conference
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: December 1, 2007
Publication Date: January 10, 2008
Citation: Gasic, K., Han, Y., Kertbundit, S., Shulaev, V., Lezzoni, A.F., Stover, E.W., Bell, R.L., Wisniewski, M.E., Korban, S.S. 2008. Transferability of apple EST-derived SSRs to other Rosaceae species. Plant and Animal Genome Conference. Book of Abstracts. Vol. 16, Pg. 237.

Technical Abstract: Genic microsatellites or EST¿SSRs derived from expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are inexpensive to develop, represent transcribed genes, and often have assigned putative function. The large apple (Malus x domestica) EST database (over 300,000) provides a valuable resource for developing well-characterized DNA molecular markers. In this study, we have investigated the level of transferability of 68 apple EST-SSRs in 50 individual members of the Rosaceae family, representing four genera and fourteen species. These representatives included pear (Pyrus communis), apricot (Prunus armeniaca), European plum (P. domestica), Japanese plum (P. salicina), almond (P. dulcis), peach (P. persica), sour cherry (P. cerasus), sweet cherry (P. avium), strawberry (Fragaria vesca, F. moschata, F. virginiana, F. nipponica, and F. pentaphylla), and rose (Rosa hybrida). All 68 primer pairs gave an amplification product when tested on eight apple cultivars, and for most, the amplification product matched the in silico predicted size. When tested across the Rosaceae family, only 75% of these primer pairs produced amplification products. Transferability of apple EST-SSRs across the Rosaceae family ranged from 18% in apricot to 68% in the closely related pear. The transferability observed for the genus Prunus was 43%, while that for Fragaria was 40%. Transferability of apple EST-SSRs within Prunus ranged from 18% in apricot to 38% in peach. Overall, these results show a good level of transferability of apple EST-SSRs across the Rosaceae family, thereby, providing additional markers for comparative mapping and for carrying out evolutionary studies.