SREL Reprint #3418

Microsatellite markers for Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) and their transferability to other Aronia species

Samuel G. Obae1, Mark H. Brand2, Bryan A. Connolly3, Rochelle R. Beasley4, and Stacey L. Lance4

1Department of Biology, School of the Sciences, Stevenson University,
11200 Ted Herget Way, Owings Mills, MD 21117-7804
2Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Connecticut,
1390 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT 06269-4067
3Department of Biology, Framingham State University, 100 State Street, Framingham, MA 01701-9101
4Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC 29802

Abstract: This study reports the development, characterization, and cross-species transferability of 20 genomic microsatellite markers for Aronia melanocarpa, an important nutraceutical fruit crop. The markers were developed with Illumina paired-end genomic sequencing technology using DNA from Professor Ed cultivar that was originally collected from the wild in NewHampshire. The markers were highly polymorphic and transferable to Aronia arbutifolia and Aronia prunifolia genomes. The average number of alleles per locus was 9.1, 4.5, and 5.6 for A. melanocarpa, A. arbutifolia, and A. prunifolia, respectively. The polymorphism information content (PIC) of loci ranged from 0.38 to 0.95 for all taxa, with an average of 0.80, 0.68, and 0.87 for A. melanocarpa, A. arbutifolia, and A. prunifolia, respectively. This is the first study to develop microsatellite markers in the Aronia genus. These markers will be very useful in studying the genetic diversity and population structure of wild Aronia and expediting the breeding efforts of this emerging fruit crop through marker-assisted selection.

Keywords: Aronia arbutifolia, Aronia melanocarpa, Aronia mitschurinii, Aronia prunifolia, chokeberry, SSR

SREL Reprint #3418

Obae, S. G., M. H. Brand, B. A. Connolly, R. R. Beasley, and S. L. Lance. 2017. Microsatellite markers for Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) and their transferability to other Aronia species. HortScience 52(1): 20-23.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).