Development of microsatellite markers based on BAC common bean clones

Abstract

The eukaryotic genome owns simple sequence repeats in tandem, called microsatellites or SSR. The microsatelliteflanking DNA sequences are generally conserved among the plants of a same species, allowing that primers complementary to these regions may be used to amplify SSR-containing fragments. These repetitive regions are therefore used as molecular markers. In the present study, some microsatellite markers were developed using bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones as DNA source. Four BAC clones were sub-cloned, hybridized with three different probes and the positive clones were sequenced. Specific primers were designed and tested in common bean genotypes. Twenty-one pairs of primers amplified single and well-defined bands. One to six alleles per locus were generated, demonstrating the high polymorphism of these markers. This set of developed microsatellite markers together with the other available markers are an important tool in the breeding and genetic study of common bean.