A genetic linkage map for hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) based on RAPD and SSR markers

A linkage map for European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) was constructed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and the 2-way pseudotestcross approach. A full-sib population of 144 seedlings from the cross OSU 252.146 x OSU 414.062 was used. RAPD markers in testcross configuration, segregating 1:1, were used to construct separate maps for each parent. Fifty additional RAPD loci were assigned to linkage groups as accessory markers whose exact location could not be determined. Markers in intercross configuration, segregating 3:1, were used to pair groups in one parent with their homologues in the other. Eleven groups were identified for each parent, corresponding to the haploid chromosome number of hazelnut (n = x = 11). Thirty of the 31 SSR loci were able to be assigned to a linkage group. The maternal map included 249 RAPD and 20 SSR markers and spanned a distance of 661 cM. The paternal map included 271 RAPD and 28 SSR markers and spanned a distance of 812 cM. The maps are quite dense, with an average of 2.6 cM between adjacent markers. The S-locus, which controls pollen-stigma incompatibility, was placed on chromosome 5S where 6 markers linked within a distance of 10 cM were identified. A locus for resistance to eastern filbert blight, caused by Anisogramma anomala, was placed on chromosome 6R for which two additional markers tightly linked to the dominant allele were identified and sequenced. These maps will serve as a starting point for future studies of the hazelnut genome, including map-based cloning of important genes. The inclusion of SSR loci on the map will make it useful in other populations.