Plant & Animal Genomes XI Conference

January 11-15, 2003
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Poster: Other Species
             Compositae

GENERATION OF CANDIDATE GENE MOLECULAR MARKERS IN LETTUCE FROM ASSEMBLED EST SEQUENCES IN THE COMPOSITAE GENOME PROJECT.

¹ 1. University of California, Davis, Dept. of Vegetable Crops, Davis, CA 95616, USA

² 2. Keygene BV, Wageningen, NL

As part of the Compositae Genome Project, we are mapping candidate genes for agriculturally important traits relative to QTL determining these traits, to leverage information being generated on Arabidopsis and other model species. We have developed an F_7:8 Recombinant Inbred Line (RIL) mapping population derived from a cross of the cultivated Lactuca sativa cv. Salinas x wild Lactuca serriola 92G489. A detailed genetic map has been generated containing 550 anonymous AFLP and microsatellite markers. Genes of known sequence and inferred function are now being added to this map. We sequenced the 5’ ends of ~66,000 cDNAs of diverse libraries made from these two parents. These EST sequences have been assembled into contigs representing ~19,000 unigenes. These are being searched for candidate genes of interest. We have initially focused on genes involved in disease resistance, flowering, root development, and seed germination. When an in-silico comparison within a contig reveals a polymorphism between parental sequences, PCR primers are designed to screen the parents for this potential polymorphism. We have designed primers both manually and automatically through the use of computer scripts. Various methods are being used to detect and subsequently map these polymorphisms including detection of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) via heteroduplex analysis using temperature gradient capillary electrophoresis (Spectrumedix, State College, PA). A link to this poster will be available at http://cgpdb.ucdavis.edu/PAG2003/molecularmarkers