Plant & Animal Genomes XVI Conference

January 12-16, 2008
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

SSR-Based Reference Genetic Map Of B. rapa For Multinational Brassica rapa Genome Sequencing Project

Su Ryun Choi¹ , Chang Pyo Hong¹ , Seoyeon Lee¹ , Jamil Hossain¹ , Jing Yue Cai¹ , Subin Im¹ , Mina Jin² , Jung Sun Kim² , Beom-Seok Park² , Hye Ran Kim¹ , Yong Pyo Lim¹

¹  Department of Horticulture, Genome Research Center, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Korea

²  Brassica Genomics Team, National Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Suwon 441-707, Korea

We describe the second construction of a reference genetic linkage map for the Brassica rapa genome, focusing on anchoring fully sequenced BACs based on SSRs. For efficient SSR marker development, genomic distribution of SSRs was examined. SSRs were preferentially associated with genic non-coding regions, indicating that the distribution of SSRs in the genome is non-random. In particular, SSRs in genic non-coding regions may be predominantly associated with cellular component genes.
The map comprises a total of 778 markers including 468 SSR and 286 SSRs were additionally mapped in fully sequenced BACs. Those BACs have been dispersed on the genetic linkage map, with high anchoring on R03. The total length of the linkage map was 1,202 cM with an average interval of 1.99 cM between adjacent loci.
This information provide an insight into understanding of genome structure of B. rapa and will support the backbone for anchoring sequence contigs genetic information and will enable the international research community to share resources for the improvement of B. rapa and other cultivated Brassica species.