SSR markers developed for genetic mapping in flax (Linum usitatissimum L.)

Cory L Bickel, Sachin Gadani, Marshall Lukacs, Christopher A CullisDepartment of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH, USAAbstract: Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are useful molecular markers for genetic mapping and variety identification. A set of SSR markers was developed for use in the construction of a genetic map to identify genes involved in controlling genomic restructuring in flax (Linum usitatissimum L.). SSR sequences were isolated from the flax genome using a modified fast isolation by amplified fragment length polymorphism of sequences containing repeats (FIASCO) procedure. Primers were made around the SSRs, and these regions were amplified using polymerase chain reaction. Forty-two of 92 (46%) SSRs showed polymorphisms. The number of alleles for each SSR ranged from two to eight, with an average of 3.32. Polymorphism information content (PIC) was calculated for the polymorphic SSRs, with a range of 0.1049–0.8642, the average being 0.47. Several SSRs were also found informatically using genome sequence data from the flax variety Bethune. Seven of 15 (47%) were polymorphic, with an average number of alleles of 4.14, and an average PIC of 0.59. These markers add to the resources available for genetic mapping and variety identification in flax.Keywords: simple sequence repeats, microsatellites, Linum usitatissimum, flax, genetic map, FIASCO