Development and characterization of 59 polymorphic cDNA‐SSR markers for the edible oil crop Sesamum indicum (Pedaliaceae)

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Polymorphic simple sequence repeat markers from transcript sequences (cDNA-simple sequence repeat [SSR]) were developed for the edible oil crop Sesamum indicum to facilitate the genetic study of this species. • METHODS AND RESULTS: We found 7702 SSR loci in the 60960 unigenes, and 1550 primer pairs were designed and synthesized. In total, 59 primer pairs showed polymorphism within 36 individuals; the number of alleles per locus ranged from two to four, and the expected and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.05 to 0.74 and 0 to 0.30, respectively. • CONCLUSIONS: These polymorphic markers will greatly facilitate studies of the genetic structure of S. indicum populations as well as the identification and conservation of the species.