Phylogenetic Reconstruction of five Solanaceous species by Genome-wide Analysis of Simple Sequence Repeats in Organellar Genomes and their Utility in Establishing Species Relationships of genus Nicotiana

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in organellar genomes offers better opportunity in understanding the phylogenetic relationships among important Solanaceae crop species. Even though organellar genomes of some crop species are available in the public domain, a comparative analysis of SSRs has been reported only for major cereals. Since Solanaceae has been proved to be an excellent model for comparative genomics, there is immense need to understand the phylogenetic relationships by comparative analysis of organellar SSRs. The purpose of this study was to understand the organization and distribution of SSRs in the genic and intergenic regions of organellar genomes of Solanaceous species viz., tomato, potato, tobacco and progenitors of tobacco and demonstrate the utility of organellar SSR markers in phylogenetic analysis.