first genetic linkage map of crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia) based on amplification fragment length polymorphisms and simple sequence repeats markers

Lagerstroemia (crape myrtle) are famous ornamental plants with large pyramidal racemes, long flower duration and diverse colours. Genetic maps provide an important genomic resource of basic and applied significance. A genetic linkage map was developed by genotyping 192 F₁ progeny from a cross between L. caudata (female) and L. indica (‘Xiang Xue Yun’) (male) with a combination of amplification fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) and simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers in a double pseudo‐testcross mapping strategy. A total of 330 polymorphic loci consisting of 284 AFLPs and 46 SSRs showing Mendelian segregation were generated from 383 AFLP primer combinations and 150 SSR primers. The data were analysed using JoinMap 4.0 (evaluation version) to construct the linkage map. The map consisted of 20 linkage groups of 173 loci (160 AFLPs and 13 SSRs) covering 1162.1 cM with a mean distance of 10.69 cM between adjacent markers. The 20 linkage groups contained 2–49 loci and ranged in length from 7.38 to 163.57 cM. This map will serve as a framework for mapping QTLs and provide reference information for future molecular breeding work.