Developing an optimized PCR protocol for microsatellite analysis in Vaccinium myrtillus

Sammanfattning

In the future, food security will face significant challenges due to climate change and a growing world population. One approach to make agriculture more sustainable is to preserve biodiversity by utilizing crop wild relatives as a source of genetic material. These crop wild relatives are closely related to today’s cultivated crops and can be an important asset to combat food insecurity. Gaining more knowledge about a species’ genetic diversity through microsatellite analysis is an important step for future conservation and potential utilization in crop improvement. However, before these studies can take place the microsatellite markers have to be optimized for PCR. In this study, eleven microsatellite markers were optimized for bilberry individuals. Optimized annealing temperatures were found for all markers and most of them had amplification in three or more of the individuals tested from Sweden, Finland and Iceland. Ten out of the eleven tested markers were regarded suitable for future genetic diversity analyses. The eleventh, VCB-C00694, was considered unsuitable due to formation of primer dimers and not amplifying in several individuals. By assessing the genetic diversity of bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus, it opens up the possibility to enrich their domesticated relative the American blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum, by introducing new genetic variety. In relation to this, the increased knowledge about genetic diversity among bilberries in the Nordic can lead to better understanding of their need for conservation.