Genetic characterization of an elite coffee germplasm assessed by gSSR and EST-SSR markers.

Coffee is one of the main agrifood commodities traded worldwide. In 2009, coffee accounted for 6.1% of the value of Brazilian agricultural production, generating a revenue of US$6 billion. Despite the importance of coffee production in Brazil, it is supported by a narrow genetic base, with few accessions. Molecular differentiation and diversity of a coffee breeding program were assessed with gSSR and EST-SSR markers. The study comprised 24 coffee accessions according to their genetic origin: arabica accessions (six traditional genotypes of C. arabica), resistant arabica (six leaf rust-resistant C. arabica genotypes with introgression of Híbrido de Timor), robusta (five C. canephora genotypes), Híbrido de Timor (three C. arabica x C. canephora), triploids (three C. arabica x C. racemosa), and racemosa (one C. racemosa). Allele and polymorphism analysis, AMOVA, the Student t-test, Jaccard's dissimilarity coefficient, cluster analysis, correlation of genetic distances, and discriminant analysis, were performed. EST-SSR markers gave 25 exclusive alleles per genetic group, while gSSR showed 47, which will be useful for differentiating accessions and for fingerprinting varieties. The gSSR markers detected a higher percentage of polymorphism among (35% higher on average) and within (42.9% higher on average) the genetic groups, compared to EST-SSR markers. The highest percentage of polymorphism within the genetic groups was found with gSSR markers for robusta (89.2%) and for resistant arabica (39.5%). It was possible to differentiate all genotypes including the arabica-related accessions. Nevertheless, combined use of gSSR and EST-SSR markers is recommended for coffee molecular characterization, because EST-SSRs can provide complementary information.

A molecular marker-based linkage map of Phaseolus vulgaris L.

A seed and flower color marker (P), nine seed protein, nine isozyme and 224 restriction fragment length polymorphism marker loci were used to construct a linkage map of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. (n = 11). The mapping population consisted of a backcross progeny between the Mesoamerican breeding line 'XR-235-1-1' and the Andean cultivar 'Calima'; the former was used as the recurrent parent. A bean PstI genomic library enriched for single copy sequences (95%) was the source of DNA probes. Sixty percent of the probes tested detected polymorphisms between the parental genotypes with at least one of the four restriction enzymes used here (DraI, EcoRI, EcoRV and HindIII). The computer software Mapmaker was used to determine the linkage relationships and linear order of segregating markers. These markers assorted into 11 linkage groups covering 960 cM of the bean genome. Partial linkage data were used to estimate the total length of the genome at 1200 cM. This estimate and that for the physical size of the genome yield an average ratio of 530 kb/cM. The relatively small size of the genome makes this crop species a good candidate for the isolation of genes via chromosome walking techniques.