Development and characterization of microsatellite loci for the pseudometallophyte Commelina communis (Commelinaceae)(1)

• Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed for the pseudometallophyte Commelina communis (Commelinaceae), an important pioneer plant for phytoremediation of copper-contaminated soil. Two wild populations collected from metalliferous and nonmetalliferous sites were used to assess the polymorphism at each locus. • Methods and Results: Based on the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining repeats (FIASCO) method, a total of 34 pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were designed. When 40 specimens from two populations were screened, 12 microsatellite loci were found to be highly polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from one to 11 and the observed and expected heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and from 0.195 to 0.941, respectively. • Conclusions: These markers will be useful for examining genetic diversity, population structure, and gene flow in populations of C. communis under different edaphic conditions and guiding sustainable management plans for phytoremediation.