Construction of a Reference Genetic Linkage Map in Pistachio By SSR Markers

The genus Pistacia belongs to Anacardiaceae family and consists of about 11 species. P. vera is only cultivated and the others are wild species. Pistachio is dioecious and haploid chromosome number is n=15. Genetic linkage maps are important tools to develop markers linked economically important characters. They are also good sources for whole genome sequencing projects to anchor scaffolds onto chromosomes. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are co-dominant markers and are very useful to construct consensus maps in heterozygous species. Therefore, this study aims to construct the first SSR-based genetic linkage maps in pistachio. An F1 population from Siirt x Bagyolu cross with 135 plants were used in the mapping. A total of 750 SSR markers was screened in the parents and in six F1 progenies for segregation. The segregated SSR markers were analyzed in the population and were used in the map construction. The consensus map included 385 SSR markers along with 15 chromosomes and 70.9% of them were common markers. The LG length changed between 61.3 cM and 131.0 cM. The constructed map can be used in pistachio in further studies such as genome sequencing, genetic diversity and marker assisted selection.