Characterization of 20 new EST-SSR markers for northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) and their transferability to Fagus sylvatica L. and six oak species of section Lobatae and Quercus

Abstract

Northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) is widely distributed in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. It has also been introduced to Europe, where it has become an economically important plantation species now. Despite growing genomic resources, the number of available EST-SSR (expressed sequence tag – simple sequence repeat) markers for Q. rubra is still limited. Here, we used existing sequence information to provide a new set of EST-SSRs for northern red oak. In total, we report 20 polymorphic EST-SSRs, for which performance was evaluated in three Q. rubra populations from different regions in Michigan. We further tested the transferability of these markers to six additional oak species of section Lobatae (Quercus ellipsoidalis E.J. Hill, and Quercus georgiana M.A. Curtis) and Quercus (Quercus robur L., Quercus alba L., Quercus pedunculiflora K. Koch, and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.), as well as to European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). The reported markers can be used in future population genetic studies.