A genetic linkage map for tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter].

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is the major cereal crop in Ethiopia. Tef is an allotetraploid with a base chromosome number of 10 (2n = 4x = 40) and a genome size of 730 Mbp. Ninety-four F(9) recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from the interspecific cross, Eragrostis tef cv. Kaye Murri x Eragrostis pilosa (accession 30-5), were mapped using restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP), simple sequence repeats derived from expressed sequence tags (EST-SSR), single nucleotide polymorphism/insertion and deletion (SNP/INDEL), intron fragment length polymorphism (IFLP) and inter-simple sequence repeat amplification (ISSR). A total of 156 loci from 121 markers was grouped into 21 linkage groups at LOD 4, and the map covered 2,081.5 cM with a mean density of 12.3 cM per locus. Three putative homoeologous groups were identified based on multi-locus markers. Sixteen percent of the loci deviated from normal segregation with a predominance of E. tef alleles, and a majority of the distorted loci were clustered on three linkage groups. This map will be useful for further genetic studies in tef including mapping of loci controlling quantitative traits (QTL), and comparative analysis with other cereal crops.