Strawberry GenBank-derived and genomic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and their utility with strawberry, blackberry, and red and black raspberry

Although simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers have been developed for species in the closely related genera Fragaria L. (strawberry) and Rubus L. (raspberry and blackberry), the number of SSRs available is insufficient for genetic mapping. Our objective was to use and compare multiple approaches for developing additional SSRs for Fragaria and Rubus. The approaches included: the development of SSRs from GenBank sequences from species of varied relatedness to Fragaria and Rubus and identified with two different data-mining methods (BLAST and SSRIT); the evaluation of some previously published SSRs designed from related species; and the development of SSRs from a genomic library made from F. xananassa Duschene ex Rozier 'Earliglow'. When an SSR was developed from a known gene sequence, the location of the repeat in the gene was determined to evaluate the effect on amplification and polymorphism detection. Cross-generic amplification between closely related Fragaria and Rubus as well as transference from species of varied relatedness to Fragaria and Rubus also was evaluated and indicated limited transference within the subfamily Rosoideae. However, development of SSRs for Fragaria and Rubus from Rosa L. (rose) and Rosaceae genera outside Rosoideae was not efficient enough to be practical for new map development. SSRIT was superior to BLAST for identifying GenBank sequences containing repeats. SSRs developed from repeats found in either the 5′UTR (80% polymorphic) or 3′UTR (85% polymorphic) were most likely to detect polymorphisms, compared with those developed from coding regions (30%). SSRs developed from the genomic library were only slightly superior to GenBank-derived SSRs in their ability to detect polymorphisms.