Constructing a Genetic Linkage Map Using an F1 Population of Non-inbred Parents in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz)

A genetic linkage map of cassava has been generated with total of 355 molecular markers, 231 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), 41 simple sequence repeats (SSRs), 48 sequence-related amplified polymorphisms (SRAPs), and 35 expressed sequence tag (EST)-SSRs segregating from an F1 population of an intraspecific cross between SC6, as female parent, and Mianbao, as male parent. The genetic map consisted of 18 linkage groups and spanned a 1,707.9 cM genetic distance, with the average marker interval being 4.81 cM. Thirty-five EST-SSR markers that were developed by our laboratory were mapped onto this map. The genetic map generated in this study will enrich the information of structural genomics in cassava, facilitating to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) of interest and to serve as a useful complement for construction of an integrated map in the future.