Plant Genome II Conference
Town & Country Conference Center, San Diego, CA, January, 1994.
PG-II: A GENETIC LINKAGE MAP OF NORWAY SPRUCE: PERSPECTIVES
A GENETIC LINKAGE MAP OF NORWAY SPRUCE: PERSPECTIVES.
Gioraio Binelli and Gabriele Bucci Dept. of Genetics and
Microbiology, University of Milano, Institute of Ecology,
University of Parma, Italy.
Among European forest tree species, Norway spruce (Picea
abies) stands in a dominant position for both economical and
ecological reasons. However, the lack of availability of
suitable pedigrees has hampered until now the genetic studies on
this species, especially with regards to linkage data. Taking
advantage of the backcross-type segregation in the haploid
megagametophytes, we have built the first linkage map in this
species by means of RAPD markers. Ninety-two primers have been
used to amplify megagametophytic DNA from 72 seeds produced by a
single tree of the Italian forest of Campolino, important because
it is supposed to represent a relic population from the last
ice-age. One hundred eighty-five Mendelian-segregating markers
have been obtained and ordered in 17 linkage groups, by using
MAPMAKER/EXP, spanning a distance of about 3500 cM. For these
markers to be successfully utilized in population genetics
studies, it is essential to be certain of their consistency
across trees and across populations. To this purpose, while an
effort to transform a set of suitably spaced RAPDs into SCARs
markers is under way, we have tested 23 of the mapped markers
(arising from 7 different primers). The test has been performed
by amplifying DNA extracted from 6 megagametophytes of each of 48
trees from the same standing of the mapped tree. The results are
discussed with regards to the potential applications oi this
class of markers to the genetics of natural populations.
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