Development of Genic SSR Markers from Transcriptome Sequences of Baeckea frutescens (Cucur Atap) for Genetic Diversity Assessment

Abstract

Baeckea frutescens or Cucur Atap, is a medicinal plant that has been traditionally used as herbal medicine and has great potential for pharmaceutical application due to its biological properties. The increasing demand for B. frutescens herbal medicinal products has led to its over-exploitation. Therefore, it is crucial to generate baseline genetic information in order to formulate conservation and breeding programmes for this species. In this study, a total of 26 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers have been developed in B. frutescens based on the leaf transcriptome sequence data obtained via next generation sequencing (NGS) technology. These markers were evaluated using 32 individuals from Forest Research Institute Malaysia Research Station in Setiu, Terengganu. The mean number of alleles was two and the average expected (H_E) and observed heterozygosity (H_O) were 0.484 and 0.900, respectively. Cluster analysis revealed high genetic similarity among the individuals, whereby many of them were of the same clones. It is essential to assess more individuals from other populations for better understanding on the genetic diversity of this useful medicinal plant.