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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #322708
Title: Discriminating power of microsatellites in cranberry organelles for taxonomic studies in Vaccinium and Ericaceae

Author
item SCHLAUTMAN, BRANDON - University Of Wisconsin
item COVARRUBIAS-PAZARAN, GIOVANNY - University Of Wisconsin
item FAJARDO, DIEGO - National Center For Genome Resources
item Steffan, Shawn
item Zalapa, Juan

Submitted to: Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/18/2016
Publication Date: 2/2/2016
Citation: Schlautman, B., Covarrubias-Pazaran, G., Fajardo, D., Steffan, S., Zalapa, J. 2016. Discriminating power of microsatellites in cranberry organelles for taxonomic studies in Vaccinium and Ericaceae. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 64(3):451-466. doi: 10.1007/s10722-016-0371-6.

Interpretive Summary: This study mined, tested, and validated 24 mitochondrial and and 30 plastid microsatellite loci (i.e., molecular markers) from cranberry. The inherent variability of the markers and ability to transfer across multiple species, in combination with DNA genotyping highthrouhput approaches, suggests that they could be useful for quickly studying the molecular relationships for the Vaccinium genus and the entire Ericaceae family, which include several commercial important species such as cranberry, blueberry, lingonberry, etc. Increased understanding of genetic relationships in the Ericaceae family could shed light on the evolution of unique adaptations in the family (e.g., non-green vs. green, parasitic vs. mycotrophic, insectivorous vs. non-insectivorous, heavy metal tolerant vs. hyper-accumulators, different types of specialized and common mycorrhizal associations, etc.), and help implement species to species hybridization strategies for improving economically important Vaccinium berry crops such as blueberry and cranberry.

Technical Abstract: Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA, which have not been previously developed or explored in the Ericaceae family or Vaccinium genus, can be powerful tools for determining evolutionary relationships between taxa. In this study, 30 chloroplast and 23 mitochondria, and 1 mitochondria-like SSRs were identified in cranberry, and primer-pairs were developed and tested for each locus. Although no polymorphisms were detected for any of the 54 SSR loci in nine diverse cranberry (V. macrocarpon) genotypes, all primers were cross-transferable to some extent in a panel of 12 additional Vaccinium taxa and four non-Vaccinium Ericaceae species. A Neighbor-Joining tree of the estimated average square distances (D1) resolved the species by genera and by section within Vaccinium. Similar topologies with increased branch support were observed in Bayesian inference trees constructed using the DNA sequences of six plastid and two mitochondria SSR loci. Two multiplexing/poolplexing panels of M13 fluorescently labeled primers, which amplify 24 of the 54 markers, were developed and will serve as an efficient and cost-effective means for characterizing the basic molecular phylogeny currently lacking in Vaccinium. Increased understanding of the evolutionary relationships among Vaccinium species should facilitate interspecific hybridization and introgression efforts to improve economically important traits of commercial berry crops.