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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » National Clonal Germplasm Repository » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #219010
Title: Blueberry Microsatellite Markers Identify Cranberries

Author
item Bassil, Nahla
item Hummer, Kim

Submitted to: International Society for Horticultural Science Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/13/2007
Publication Date: 3/20/2009
Citation: Bassil, N.V., Hummer, K.E. 2009. Blueberry Microsatellite Markers Identify Cranberries. [Abstract] International Society for Horticultural Science Meeting. Acta Horticulturae. 810:181-187.

Interpretive Summary: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Agricultural Research Service (ARS) - National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) in Corvallis, Oregon, maintains a genebank preserving more than 200 types of cranberries. Many cranberry cultivars originated from native bog populations in the 1800s and early 1900s. The identity of old and recently released cultivated varieties continues to be questionable due to different types that start from seed or a plant contaminated source. The scarcity of qualitative descriptions in cranberry also contributes to misidentification. To clearly identify these cultivars, we will develop DNA fingerprints based on earlier work with blueberry. This study evaluated 46 blueberry markers and identified 16 that could distinguish cranberry. These blueberry SSR markers will be used to fingerprint each of the cranberries in the collection at the NCGR. The markers will also be used to assess genetic variation of important cultivars growing in Oregon and Washington bogs. The information generated will be accessible on-line to the cranberry community.

Technical Abstract: Forty-six blueberry simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers or microsatellites were tested for the ability to amplify a polymorphic marker in eight American cranberry accessions. Sixteen SSRs resulted in informative and polymorphic SSR primer pairs and were used to fingerprint 16 economically important cranberry cultivars. They distinguished between the cultivars and grouped them based on pedigree. Two ‘Searles’ accessions, collected from Jacob Searles Cranberry Co. in Wisconsin, had different genetic profiles. They were differentiated from each other based on the proportion of shared allele distance using these SSRs, thus demonstrating the power of these markers in identifying genetically different cranberry plants that share the same cultivar name. A subset of these 16 blueberry SSR markers will be used to fingerprint the cranberry collection of the National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR), to evaluate genetic variation of important cultivars growing in Oregon and Washington bogs, and to provide web-access to these markers and fingerprints to the entire cranberry community.