Development of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for the assessment of gene flow between sea beet (<i>Beta vulgaris</i> ssp. <i>maritima</i>) populations

Abstract

Abstract Molecular markers can be used to estimate gene flow indirectly by monitoring the relative frequency of alleles in adjacent populations. Sea beet ( Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima ) is a wild plant species found along the coastlines of many European countries and is closely related to cultivated beets. A set of six simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers that are polymorphic in UK populations have been developed for sea beet to assess the problems of indirect measurement of gene flow in these populations.