Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #172802
Title: SIMPLE SEQUENCE REPPEAT (SSR) MARKERS FOR GENETIC MAPPING OF RASPBERRY AND BLACKBERRY

Author
item STAFNE, ERIC - U. ARKANSAS
item CLARK, JOHN - U. ARKANSAS
item WEBER, COURTNEY - CORNELL UNIVERSITY
item GRAHAM, JULIE - SCOTTISH CROPS RES.I
item Lewers, Kimberly

Submitted to: Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/23/2005
Publication Date: 9/13/2005
Citation: Stafne, E.T., Clark, J.R., Weber, C.A., Graham, J., Lewers, K.S. 2005. Simple sequence reppeat (ssr) markers for genetic mapping of raspberry and blackberry. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 130(5):722-728.

Interpretive Summary: Interest in genetic research tools is increasing among researchers developing new varieties of raspberry and blackberry. With a kind of genetic research tool called molecular markers, these researchers can identify potential new varieties when plants are just seedlings instead of having to wait until the plants are mature and have borne fruit for a couple years. A growing number of molecular markers are becoming available to raspberry and blackberry researchers. We tested 142 molecular markers that researchers made from raspberry DNA to see if they could be used by researchers working with raspberry and blackberry. Sixty-three could be used with raspberry, and thirty-six could be used with blackberry. The number needed to help develop improved raspberry and blackberry cultivars is encouraging but insufficient. From our findings, researchers will know that molecular markers to be used for raspberry should be made from raspberry DNA and that molecular markers to be used for blackberry should be made from blackberry DNA. Our findings are important primarily to researchers who want to make more molecular markers for raspberry and blackberry so they can eventually have enough to speed the development of new varieties.

Technical Abstract: Interest in molecular markers and genetic maps is growing among researchers developing new cultivars of Rubus L. (raspberry and blackberry). Several traits of interest fail to express in seedlings or in all environments and are candidates for marker-assisted selection. A growing number of simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers derived from Rubus and Fragaria L. (strawberry) are available for use with Rubus mapping populations. The objectives of this study were to test 142 of these SSR markers to screen raspberry and blackberry parental genotypes for potential use in existing mapping populations that segregate for traits of interest, determine the extent of inter-species and inter-genera transferability with amplification, and determine the level of polymorphism among the parents. Up to 26 of the SSR primer pairs tested may be useful for genetic mapping in both the blackberry population and at least one of the raspberry populations. However, since the maximum number of SSR primer pairs found useable for mapping was only 65 for the raspberry population and 39 for the blackberry population, there is a need to develop additional SSR primer pairs for genetic mapping in both raspberry and blackberry.