Development and characterization of 18 polymorphic SSR markers for Barthea barthei (Melastomataceae)(1)

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: To examine population differentiation, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed in Barthea barthei, a shrub with a disjunct distribution in the southern mainland of China and Taiwan. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used Illumina HiSeq technology to sequence a genomic library for SSR identification. Twenty-seven SSR loci were developed, of which 18 SSR loci were polymorphic in three populations composed of two varieties of B. barthei. At the population level, the number of alleles ranged from one to seven, and the observed and expected heterozygosity varied from 0 to 0.850 and from 0 to 0.809, respectively. Higher genetic differentiation between the two populations of B. barthei var. barthei (F(ST) = 0.474) was observed relative to the two varieties (F(ST) = 0.387 and 0.418, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These polymorphic SSR markers may be useful for understanding phytogeographic history of B. barthei. Lower genetic differentiation between the two varieties than between the two populations of B. barthei var. barthei suggests that the taxonomic treatment may not hold.