Serim Kim

Development of Genome-Wide SSR Markers from Angelica gigas Nakai Using Next Generation Sequencing

Angelica gigas Nakai is an important medicinal herb, widely utilized in Asian countries especially in Korea, Japan, and China. Although it is a vital medicinal herb, the lack of sequencing data and efficient molecular markers has limited the application of a genetic approach for horticultural improvements. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are universally accepted molecular markers for population structure study. In this study, we found over 130,000 SSRs, ranging from di- to deca-nucleotide motifs, using the genome sequence of Manchu variety (MV) of A. gigas, derived from next generation sequencing (NGS). From the putative SSR regions identified, a total of 16,496 primer sets were successfully designed. Among them, we selected 848 SSR markers that showed polymorphism from in silico analysis and contained tri- to hexa-nucleotide motifs. We tested 36 SSR primer sets for polymorphism in 16 A. gigas accessions. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.69; the average observed heterozygosity (HO) values, and the expected heterozygosity (HE) values were 0.53 and 0.73, respectively. These newly developed SSR markers would be useful tools for molecular genetics, genotype identification, genetic mapping, molecular breeding, and studying species relationships of the Angelica genus.

Simple sequence repeat marker development from Codonopsis lanceolata and genetic relation analysis

In this study, we developed 15 novel polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers by SSR-enriched genomic library construction from Codonopsis lanceolata. We obtained a total of 226 non-redundant contig sequences from the assembly process and designed primer sets. These markers were applied to 53 accessions representing the cultivated C. lanceolata in South Korea. Fifteen markers were sufficiently polymorphic, and were used to analyze the genetic relationships between the cultivated C. lanceolata. One hundred three alleles of the 15 SSR markers ranged from 3 to 19 alleles at each locus, with an average of 6.87. By cluster analysis, we detected clear genetic differences in most of the accessions, with genetic distance varying from 0.73 to 0.93. Phylogenic analysis indicated that the accessions that were collected from the same area were distributed evenly in the phylogenetic tree. These results indicate that there is no correlative genetic relationship between geographic areas. These markers will be useful in differentiating C. lanceolata genetic resources and in selecting suitable lines for a systemic breeding program.