Update on comparative genome mapping between Malus and Pyrus

BACKGROUND: Comparative genome mapping determines the linkage between homologous genes of related taxa. It has already been used in plants to characterize agronomically important genes in lesser studied species, using information from better studied species. In the Maloideae sub-family, which includes fruit species such as apple, pear, loquat and quince, genome co-linearity has been suggested between the genera Malus and Pyrus; however map comparisons are incomplete to date. FINDINGS: Genetic maps for the apple rootstocks 'Malling 9' ('M.9') (Malus × domestica) and 'Robusta 5' ('R5') (Malus × robusta), and pear cultivars 'Bartlett' and 'La France' (Pyrus communis) were constructed using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers developed from both species, including a new set of 73 pear Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) SSR markers. Integrated genetic maps for apple and pear were then constructed using 87 and 131 SSR markers in common, respectively. The genetic maps were aligned using 102 markers in common, including 64 pear SSR markers and 38 apple SSR markers. Of these 102 markers, 90 anchor markers showed complete co-linearity between the two genomes. CONCLUSION: Our alignment of the genetic maps of two Malus cultivars of differing species origin with two Pyrus communis cultivars confirms the ready transferability of SSR markers from one genus to the other and supports a high level of co-linearity within the sub-family Maloideae between the genomes of Malus and Pyrus.