DEVELOPMENT OF EST-SSR MARKERS IN COMMON FIG, FICUS CARICA L

Expressed sequence tag SSRs (EST-SSRs) are gene-derived SSRs that are easily built up using the tremendous ever-increasing cDNA clones and EST databases. Two hundred thirty eight SSR-containing EST were recognized after mining 8430 Ficus carica EST tandems that correspond approximately to 4873 Kb. A total of 360 EST-SSRs were recognized and 39 newly developed primers were designed. BLASTX identified the function of 153 (64%) EST sequences. Genetic diversity among the seven fig accessions were performed using the 22 amplified EST-SSRs. The generated dendrogram using UPGMA clustering was successful in distinguishing various fig accessions with a similarity coefficients ranged from a high of 0.93 to a low of 0.72. The present investigation is the first direct attempt to build up a large number of EST-SSR markers in Ficus carica. These EST-SSRs will not only increase the SSRs limited availability in Ficus carica but also they can be used across related species.