Boechera microsatellite website: an online portal for species identification and determination of hybrid parentage

Database (Oxford). 2017 Jan 1;2017(1):baw169. doi: 10.1093/database/baw169.

Abstract

Boechera (Brassicaceae) has many features to recommend it as a model genus for ecological and evolutionary research, including species richness, ecological diversity, experimental tractability and close phylogenetic proximity to Arabidopsis . However, efforts to realize the full potential of this model system have been thwarted by the frequent inability of researchers to identify their samples and place them in a broader evolutionary context. Here we present the Boechera Microsatellite Website (BMW), a portal that archives over 55 000 microsatellite allele calls from 4471 specimens (including 133 nomenclatural types). The portal includes analytical tools that utilize data from 15 microsatellite loci as a highly effective DNA barcoding system. The BMW facilitates the accurate identification of Boechera samples and the investigation of reticulate evolution among the ±83 sexual diploid taxa in the genus, thereby greatly enhancing Boechera 's potential as a model system.

Database url: http://sites.biology.duke.edu/windhamlab/.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Arabidopsis / classification
  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic*
  • DNA, Plant / genetics*
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Internet*
  • Microsatellite Repeats*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA*

Substances

  • DNA, Plant