Standardized SSR allele naming and binning among projects

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) have proven to be extremely valuable DNA markers for genetic mapping and population genetic analyses. However, data collected across laboratories or even within laboratories are difficult to combine due to challenges in standardizing allele names, especially for nonmodel systems. Here we provide a new approach for standardizing SSR allele names that combines several previously recognized components for standardization, including reference samples/alleles, cumulative binsets, static between-allele spacing, and interval allele naming.