<b>Linkage disequilibrium and population structure in <i>Fragaria chiloensis</i> revealed by SSR markers transferred from commercial strawberry

Abstract

The Chilean strawberry [Fragaria chiloensis (L.) Mill.] is the maternal progenitor of the commercial strawberry (Fragaria ´ ananassa Duch.), which is characterized by fruits with high organoleptic quality and is well-suited to areas where drought and salinity represent a constraint on crop growth and productivity. We examined the patterns of linkage disequilibrium, genetic diversity and population structure among 54 accessions of F. chiloensis to understand the genetic basis of this species. We used a core microsatellite marker set (n = 95) from a consensus linkage map of strawberry. A transferability rate of 82.1% (78/95) was found, and 38 markers were selected for this study. The SSR primers produced a total of 259 alleles, which varied between 112 and 342 bp. Lower genetic diversity at the species level (H_E = 0.17, Shannon’s index = 0.28) was found compared to previous studies of this species. No climatic region pattern for SSR diversity was observed. Structure analysis suggests that the accessions are grouped into three significantly differentiated clusters. Pairwise estimates of φ_ST indicated a low degree of differentiation between the three genetic groups (φ_ST = 0.023 to 0.06). These groups are in concordance with potential glacial refugia in the region, with many accessions being an admixture of them.