Developing EST SSR Markers for Constructing a Framework Genetic Linkage Map for Yellow-Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.)

Liriodendron tulipifera L., commonly known as yellow-poplar, is a member of Magnoliaceae. It is an attractive, fast-growing hard wood tree species with great ecological and economic value. Liriodendron occupies an important phylogenetic position as a basal angiosperm and has been used in the evolutionary study of flowering plants. Genomic resources, such as EST databases and BAC libraries, have been developed for this species.  In this project, we mined available EST databases for putative polymorphic sequence repeat (SSR) markers with the goal of developing 190 informative EST SSRs. These markers will be used to construct the first framework genetic linkage map of L. tulipifera with 380 full-sib seedlings.  Such a linkage map is essential for future molecular breeding and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, and as a platform for sequencing the Liriodendron genome in the future.