Development and characterization of EST-SSR markers from Jatropha curcas EST database and their transferability across jatropha-related species/genus

Jatropha curcas (jatropha) is a multipurpose plant with potential as a raw material for biofuel. In the present study, a total of 43,349 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from J. curcas were searched for type and frequency of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Five thousand one hundred and seventy-five sequences were indentified to contain 6,108 SSRs with 90.8% simple and 9.2% compound repeat motifs. One hundred and sixty-three EST-SSRs were developed and used to evaluate the transferability and genetic relatedness among 4 accessions of J. curcas from China, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam; 5 accessions of congeneric species, viz. J. gossypiifolia, dwarf J. integerrima, normal J. integerrima, J. multifida, J. podagrica; and Ricinus communis. The polymorphic markers showed 75.56–85.19% transferability among four species of Jatropha and 26.67% transferability across genera in Ricinus communis. Investigation of genetic relatedness showed that J. curcas and J. integerrima are closely related. EST-SSRs used in this study demonstrate a high efficiency of cross species/genera amplification and are useful for identifying genetic diversity of jatropha and its close taxa and to choose the desired related species for wide crossing to improve new varieties of jatropha. The markers can also be further exploited for genetic resource management and genetic improvement of related species/genera through marker-assisted breeding programs.