Development of molecular linkage maps in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) using sequence‐related amplified polymorphism markers

Sweet potato is an important food crop with high starch content. It is a hexaploid species, for which the chromosomes have not yet been well characterized. In this study, we used 856 SRAP primer pairs to analyse the 240 individuals from a mapping population, which were derived from a hybrid F₁ generation of ‘Luoxushu 8’ (female) and ‘Zhengshu 20’ (male). Genetic linkage maps of the two parents were constructed. In the female parent (‘Luoxushu 8’), the linkage map consisted of 1391 markers, and the length of the linkage map was estimated to be 10,188.4 cM with an average distance of 7.17 cM between markers. In the male parent (‘Zhengshu 20’), the final linkage map consisted of 1,112 markers, and the estimated length of the map was 9,165.17 cM with an average distance of 8.40 cM between markers. Our results provide a basis for the detailed characterization of sweet potato chromosome sequences and the development of related molecular markers.