ARS | Publication request: Development, linkage mapping, and utilization of microsallelites in bermudagrass

Submitted to: Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 28, 2010
Publication Date: November 1, 2010
Citation: Harris-Shultz, K.R., Schwartz, B.M., Brady, J.A. 2010. Development, linkage mapping and use of microsallelites in bermudagrass. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 135(6):511-520.

Interpretive Summary: Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) is a warm-season grass used as turf for home lawns, public parks, golf courses, sports fields and for forage and soil conservation. Bermudagrass is salt tolerant, heat and drought tolerant, and some lines have tolerance to sting nematodes. Despite these many qualities, the genes controlling these traits have not been identified and few molecular tools have been developed. Primers were developed from 53 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) containing simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and placed on bermudagrass maps. Furthermore, these EST-SSRs can be immediately used to assess genetic diversity, identify non-mutated cultivars of bermudagrass, for pedigree confirmation, and to differentiate contaminants from cultivars.

Technical Abstract: Genetic linkage maps of bermudagrass species were constructed using 118 triploid individuals derived from a cross of T89 (Cynodon dactylon, 2n= 4x= 36) and T574 (C. transvaalensis, 2n= 2x= 18). Primers were developed from 53 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) containing simple sequence repeats (SSRs) which produced 75 segregating markers from which 42 could be mapped to the T89 and T574 genetic maps. With the addition of previously generated marker data, 17 T89 linkage groups and 10 T574 linkage groups were formed using a log-of-odds (LOD) value of 3.0. The T89 and T574 linkage maps spanned 1,295.7 cM and 683.8 cM, respectively. The additional EST-SSR markers add value to the maps by increasing marker density and provide markers that can be easily transferred to other bermudagrass populations. Furthermore, EST-SSRs can be immediately used to assess genetic diversity, identify non-mutated cultivars of bermudagrass, pedigree confirmation, and differentiate contaminants from cultivars derived from ‘Tifgreen’.