Discrimination of American Cranberry Cultivars and Assessment of Clonal Heterogeneity Using Microsatellite Markers

Abstract

Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) are an economically important fruit crop derived from a North American native species. We report the application of 12 simple sequence repeats (SSR) or microsatellite markers to assess the genetic diversity of cranberry cultivars. We studied 164samplesof21differentcranberry cultivars,11 experimen- tal hybrids, and 6 representative accessions of wild species. Genetic cluster analysis, based on 117 SSR alleles, differenti- ated the major cranberry cultivars. However, some cranberry cultivar subclone variants and mislabeled samples were ob- served. Consensus genetic profiles identified the most likely clonal representatives of several important cranberry cultivars (e.g., "Ben Lear, "" Howes," and "Stevens"). The markers werefurther usedtoconfirm putativeparentsofseveral hybrid progenies. The long-term goal of our studies is to identify, preserve, and utilize unique genetic materials to breed im- proved cranberries. Attaining this goal will help growers maintain sustainability under changing economic and envi- ronmental conditions.