BAC-derived SSR markers chromosome locations in cotton

Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries with large DNA fragment inserts have rapidly become the preferred choice for physical mapping. BAC-derived microsatellite or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers facilitate the integration of physical maps with genetic maps. The objective of this research was to identify chromosome locations of the BAC-derived SSR markers in tetraploid cotton. A total of 192 SSR primer pairs were derived from BAC clones of an Upland cotton genetic standard line TM-1 (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Metaphor agarose gel electrophoresis results revealed 76 and 59 polymorphic markers between TM-1 and 3-79 (G. barbadense) or G. tomentosum, respectively. Using deletion analysis method, we assigned 39 markers out of the 192 primer pairs to 17 different chromosomes or chromosome arms. Among them, 19 and 17 markers were localized to A-subgenomes (chromosome 1-13) and D-subgenomes (chromosome 14-26), respectively. The subgenome status for the remaining three markers remained unclear due to their two potential chromosome locations achieved by tertiary monosomic stocks deletion analysis. Chromosomal assignment of these BAC-derived SSR markers will help in integrating physical and cotton genetic linkage maps and thus facilitate positional candidate gene cloning, comparative genome analysis, and the coordination of chromosome-based genome sequencing project in cotton.