Minority Starter Grant - Development of Microsatellite Markers for Cranberry Genetic Improvement

越橘(Vaccdium Maccarpon Ait.)是杜鹃花科植物中一种重要的北美木本植物。下一代测序技术提供了快速、廉价地产生大量高质量分子标记的可能性。这些标记的使用将允许开发创新的植物育种系统，以加快培育独特的蔓越莓品种。本研究将(1)利用Roche 454焦磷酸测序数据开发和测试2400对引物；(2)开发250-500个微卫星多态标记用于栽培和自然种质鉴定和连锁图谱构建；(3)建立基于微卫星标记的指纹分析方法，用于无性系繁殖的蔓越莓品种的真实性和类型验证。经过开发和测试，所产生的微卫星标记将在蔓越莓遗传研究中特别有用，因为它具有高度的重复性、多等位基因性质、共显性、相对丰度、在大多数植物基因组中广泛分布以及在密切相关物种之间的可转移性。蔓越莓是北美重要的商业木本植物物种。美国是世界领先的蔓越莓生产国，蔓越莓因其酸味和营养和药用特性而备受珍视。然而，关于该物种的遗传学信息很少。下一代测序技术提供了快速、廉价地产生大量高质量分子标记的可能性。这些标记的使用将允许开发创新的植物育种系统，以加快培育独特的蔓越莓品种，以应对挑战，如在可持续生产系统中提高产量，改善浆果质量(包括营养)，以及应对日益多变和极端的气候以及病虫害压力。该项目将帮助支持正在进行的针对不同受众的教育生物技术推广计划。

The cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) is a commercially important, North American, woody plant species in the Ericaceae family. Next-generation sequencing technologies offer the possibility of generating large numbers of quality molecular markers quickly and cheaply. The use of such markers will allow the development of innovative plant breeding systems to speed the breeding of unique cranberry cultivars. This research will (1) use Roche 454 pyrosequencing data for the development and testing of 2,400 primer pairs, (2) develop 250 to 500 microsatellite polymorphic markers for cultivated and natural germplasm characterization and linkage map construction, and (3) develop a microsatellite marker based fingerprinting assay for the true-to-type verification of clonally propagated cranberry cultivars. After development and testing, the resulting microsatellite markers will be particularly useful in cranberry genetic studies due to high reproducibility, their multiallelic nature, codominance, relative abundance, wide dispersal in most plant genomes, and transferability among closely related species.The cranberry is a commercially important, North American, woody plant species. The U.S. is a worldwide leading producer of cranberries, which are highly prized for their tart flavor and nutritional and medicinal attributes. However, little information is available regarding the genetics of the species. Next-generation sequencing technologies offer the possibility of generating large numbers of quality molecular markers quickly and cheaply. The use of such markers will allow the development of innovative plant breeding systems to speed the breeding of unique cranberry cultivars to meet challenges such as increasing yield in sustainable production systems, improving berry quality (including nutrition), and responding to increasingly variable and extreme climates and insects and diseases pressures. This project will help support an ongoing education biotech outreach program targeting diverse audiences.