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The development and partial characterization of turkey genomic libraries enriched for TG, GAT, and CCT simple sequence repeats (SSR) are described. The primary library, established using conventional methods, was enriched for each of the three SSR by single-primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The three enriched libraries were screened by standard hybridization and washing protocols under moderate to high stringency conditions. The utility of a fraction of the markers was evaluated based on the polymorphism of PCR-amplified products in a backcross reference DNA panel. The panel consisted of genomic DNA samples from three backcrossed families developed from a cross of a wild male turkey to three inbred Orlopp line C females. A total of 181 sequences from positive clones have been characterized and deposited in GenBank. About 60% of the 60 primer pairs designed from SSR-containing sequences detected polymorphism in the reference DNA panel. The turkey genomic DNA reference panel, the enriched libraries, and the markers described here provide an opportunity to begin to characterize the turkey genome and to develop a useful public genetic map for this economically important species.