Relationships among blueberry species within the section Cyanococcus of the Vaccinium genus based on EST-PCR markers

Abstract

Commercial blueberry species of North America belong to the Vaccinium genus, section Cyanococcus. Phylogenetic relationships of 50 accessions of different ploidy levels within Cyanococcus were investigated using 249 expressed sequence tag-polymerase chain reaction markers and standard clustering methods. Of the commercial species, tetraploid V. corymbosum grouped most closely with the diploids, V. fuscatum and V. caesariense, followed by the diploid V. elliottii. Tetraploid V. angustifolium grouped with the diploids, V. boreale and V. myrtilloides. Hexaploid V. virgatum grouped most closely with the diploid V. tenellum, thus shedding light on the origins of these polyploid species.