Transferability of Genomic and EST-Microsatellites from Festuca arundinacea Schreb. to Lolium persicum Boiss. and Hohen. ex Boiss.

This study was primarily aimed to assess the applicability of genomic and EST-microsatellite markers for genetic study of Lolium persicum, through investigating the transferability of publicly available SSR markers. The transferability of 12 genomic and 20 EST-SSR primer pairs from Festuca arundinacea to representatives of Iranian natural populations of Lolium persicum was assessed. The percentage of polymorphic loci and PIC (Polymorphism Information Content) values of utilized markers showed that (i) genomic SSRs were as transferable as EST-SSRs (75%) and (ii) level of polymorphism revealed by EST-SSRs (average PIC = 0.278) was similar to that of the genomic-SSRs (average PIC = 0.219). PCO analysis of data matrix showed that the studied specimens could be genetically divided into three groups (N, NW and SW), related to their geographic origin. This study showed that the cross species transferable SSRs are valuable molecular tools, for genetic studies of the L. persicum for which limited number of molecular markers are available.