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Genetic diversity of ten black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) cultivars and construction of a mapping population

Tree Genetics & Genomes volume 15, Article number: 62 (2019) Cite this article

Abstract

Black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) nut production stands on the brink of potentially great market expansion that can only be realized with significant genetic and horticultural improvement, such that commercial production becomes feasible. The goal of this study was to incorporate microsatellite/simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to genotype 11 cultivars and selections, and establish a mapping population from a cross of two cultivars, “Football” × “Sparrow.” Morphology of these two cultivars coupled with phylogenetic analysis supports the notion that a cross between them may yield desirable hybrids. Of the 51 SSR markers amplified, 23 were polymorphic and useful for genotyping. A selection mislabeled as “Mintyle” was definitively identified as “Mintle”; therefore, the number of cultivars was reduced to 10. Furthermore, seven of the 23 markers were used to identify 91 intraspecific hybrids (“Football” × “Sparrow”) resulting from open pollination, thereby establishing the first mapping population of black walnut using SSR markers.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Marilyn Odneal for valuable discussions and constructive comments on the manuscript. The authors also thank Brigette Williams for technical assistance.

Funding

This work is supported by Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land Grant College of Agriculture no. 2018-70001-27832 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Data archiving statement

This research contains no data that requires submission to a public database. The names and allele sizes of the 23 SSR loci used in this study are listed in Table 3. Primer sequences for the SSR markers can be found in the original publications, which are referenced within the materials and methods of the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Anna Y. Hwang

    Present address: The Six-Year B.A./M.D. Program, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO, 64108, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Fruit Experiment Station at Mountain Grove Campus, Darr College of Agriculture, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, 65897, USA

    S. Jacob Schneider, Anna Y. Hwang, Sadie D. Land, Li-Ling Chen & Chin-Feng Hwang

  2. Division of Plant Sciences, Southwest Research Center, University of Missouri, Mt. Vernon, MO, 65712, USA

    Andrew L. Thomas

Authors
  1. S. Jacob Schneider
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Correspondence to Chin-Feng Hwang.

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Communicated by A. M. Dandekar

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Schneider, S.J., Hwang, A.Y., Land, S.D. et al. Genetic diversity of ten black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) cultivars and construction of a mapping population. Tree Genetics & Genomes 15, 62 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-019-1369-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-019-1369-y

Keywords

  • Black walnut breeding
  • Microsatellite markers
  • SSR
  • Mapping population