Comparative genetic mapping reveals synteny and collinearity between the American cranberry and diploid blueberry genomes

Authors: SCHLAUTMAN, BRANDON - University Of Wisconsin; DIAZ-GARCIA, LUIS - University Of Wisconsin; COVARRUBIAS-PAZARAN, GIOVANNY - University Of Wisconsin; SCHLAUTMAN, NATHAN - University Of Wisconsin; VORSA, NICHOLI - Rutgers University; Polashock, James; Ogden, Elizabeth; BROWN, ALLAN - North Carolina State University; LIN, YING-CHEN - North Carolina State University; Bassil, Nahla; BUCK, EMILY - Plant And Food Research; WIEDOW, CLAUDIA - Plant And Food Research; MCCALLUM, SUSAN - The James Hutton Institute; GRAHAM, JULIE - The James Hutton Institute; IORIZZO, MASSIMO - North Carolina State University; Rowland, Lisa; Zalapa, Juan

Submitted to: Molecular Breeding
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/5/2017
Publication Date: 12/22/2017
Citation: Schlautman, B., Diaz-Garcia, L., Covarrubias-Pazaran, G., Schlautman, N., Vorsa, N., Polashock, J.J., Ogden, E.L., Brown, A., Lin, Y., Bassil, N.V., Buck, E.J., Wiedow, C., McCallum, S., Graham, J., Iorizzo, M., Rowland, L.J., Zalapa, J.E. 2017. Comparative genetic mapping reveals synteny and collinearity between the American cranberry and diploid blueberry genomes. Molecular Breeding. 38:9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-017-0765-y.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-017-0765-y

Interpretive Summary: Cranberry and blueberry are closely related and recently domesticated fruit crops. Both species are presumed to have an American origin and likely evolved from a common ancestor, but their evolution is little understood. Comparative genetic mapping between cranberry and blueberry was conducted to examine their genetic similarity and to better understand the evolutionary relationships between the two species. A set of common simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers was identified, added to existing cranberry and blueberry marker datasets, and used to construct genetic maps for a cranberry and blueberry. These are the largest SSR-based genetic maps currently available for cranberry (582 markers) and blueberry (409 markers). The two species possessed an exceptionally high degree of genetic similarity based on the shared markers in the developed genetic maps. Approximately 93% of the blueberry genetic map was aligned perfectly to the cranberry map. The high genetic similarity between cranberry and blueberry indicates that genetic and sequencing information will be highly transferable between species for genetic research and applied breeding. Finally, the set of 323 universal cranberry/bluberry SSR markers, and the linkage maps can serve as a shared resource for the research community which enables future comparative genetic mapping studies, the identification and transfer of genes between studies and species, and future studies exploring evolutionary relationships.

Technical Abstract: Cranberry (section Oxcycoccus) and blueberry (section Cyanococcus), are closely related and recently domesticated fruit crops in the genus Vaccinium (family Ericaceae). Both the Oxycoccus and Cyanococcus sections are presumed to have an American origin and likely evolved from a common ancestor; however, the details of species radiation and genomic divergence within and among the sections and the genus Vaccinium are little understood. Comparative genetic mapping between cranberry and blueberry was conducted to examine the synteny and collinearity of their genomes and to better understand the evolutionary relationships between the two species and sections. A set of common cross-transferable simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers was identified, added to existing cranberry and blueberry marker datasets, and used to construct linkage maps for a cranberry and an interspecific diploid blueberry population [V. darrowii x V. corymbosum] x V. corymbosum. These are the highest density SSR-based linkage maps currently available for cranberry (582 markers), blueberry (409 markers), and the genus Vaccinium. An exceptionally high degree of macro-synteny and collinearity between the cranberry and blueberry genomes was observed when comparing marker order in the maps for the two species. Approximately 93% of the blueberry linkage map was collinear with the cranberry map while the remaining 7% (66.3 cM) was spread across 15 occurrences of non-collinearity detected in eight of the 12 LGs. The synteny and collinearity between the cranberry (section Oxycoccus) and blueberry (section Cyanococcus) linkage maps suggests that the genomes of these species are highly conserved and that genome differentiation through large-scale rearrangements or chromosome fusion events has not occurred between the species during their evolution. Therefore, it is likely that genome sequence information will be highly transferable between species among and within the two sections for genetic research and applied breeding. Finally, the set of 323 cross-transferable SSR markers, and the linkage maps they were used to construct, can serve as a shared resource for the Vaccinium research community which enables future comparative genetic mapping studies, the identification and transfer of quantitative trait loci and candidate genes between studies and species, and future studies exploring evolutionary relationships in Vaccinium.