EST versus genomic derived microsatellite markers for genotyping wild and cultivated barley

Genetic variation present in wild and cultivated barley populations was investigated using two sources of microsatellite also known as simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. EST-SSRs are derived from expressed sequences and genomic SSRs are isolated from genomic DNA. Genomic SSR markers detected a higher level of polymorphism than those derived from ESTs. Polymorphism information content was higher in genomic SSRs than EST-derived SSRs. This study showed that the EST-SSR markers developed in cultivated barley are polymorphic in wild and cultivated varieties and produced high quality markers. Ten of these functional markers were polymorphic across the accessions studied. EST markers indicated clearer separation between wild and cultivated barley than genomic SSRs. The EST-SSRs are a valuable source of new polymorphic markers and should be highly applicable to barley genetic resources, providing a direct estimate of functional biodiversity.