Characterization of expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat markers for 17 Linum species

One major challenge in genetic and evolutionary studies of wild flax species is the lack of informative molecular markers. A set of 100 informative expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) primer pairs developed in cultivated flax ( Linum usitatissimum L.) were characterized on 35 Linum accessions representing 17 Linum species for their transferability to other Linum species. Ninety-nine primer pairs displayed scorable polymorphisms across 35 Linum samples and generated 627 bands likely from 121 loci. About 50% of the detected bands occurred only in three or fewer samples. A total of 393 bands, likely from 116 loci, were detected by 97 primer pairs in Linum bienne Mill. samples, but only up to 60 bands, likely from up to 39 loci, were revealed by 6 to 37 primer pairs in the samples of the other 15 Linum species. The L. bienne samples displayed 23.7% more EST-SSR variation than the L. usitatissimum samples. These characterized EST-SSR markers should be useful for future genetic diversity and evolutionary studies of Linum species, particularly for the progenitor of cultivated flax.