Nuclear microsatellite markers for the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.):: characterization and utility across the genus Phoenix and in other palm genera

A (GA)(n) microsatellite-enriched library was constructed and 16 nuclear simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci were characterized in Phoenix dactylifera. Across-taxa amplification and genotyping tests showed the utility of most SSR markers in 11 other Phoenix species and the transferability of some of them in Elaeis guineensis, 11 species of Pritchardia, Pritchardiopsis jeanneneyi and six species of Astrocaryum. The first to be published for P. dactylifera, these new SSR resources are available for cultivar identification, pedigree analysis, germplasm diversity as well as genetic mapping studies.