The development of a genetic map for meadowfoam comprised of amplified fragment length polymorphisms

Limnanthes alba Benth. (meadowfoam), a diploid (x=5) winter annual, produces novel very long-chain seed oils (C₂₀ and C₂₂) with less than 2% saturated fatty acids. The first genetic map of meadowfoam, a recently domesticated species, is described herein. Two phenotypically diverse inbred lines, OMF40–11 (L. alba ssp. alba) and OMF64 (L. alba ssp. versicolor), were screened for amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) using 16 primer combinations. Twenty three percent of the AFLP bands (415 out of 1,801) were polymorphic between OMF40–11 and OMF64. One hundred (OMF40–11×OMF64)×OMF64 BC₁ progeny were genotyped for 107 polymorphic AFLP markers produced by nine AFLP primer combinations. One hundred and three AFLP loci amalgamated into five linkage groups with 14 to 28 loci per linkage group (four loci segregated independently). The map was 698.5-cM long with a mean interlocus spacing of 6.7 cM and no dense clustering of loci. The segregation ratios for 25 loci (23.2%) were significantly distorted. Twenty one of the distorted loci (84%) had an excess of L. alba ssp. versicolor (recurrent parent) alleles. The distorted loci, apart from one locus on linkage group 4, were distally clustered on both ends of linkage groups 1, 4 and 5. The development of the map was facilitated by the small chromosome number, an abundance of restriction site polymorphisms between the two subspecies (23%), and a high multiplex ratio of the AFLP markers (112 per primer combination). Received: 16 October 2000 / Accepted: 18 April 2001