Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci for Rhododendron shanii (Ericaceae)

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: We developed microsatellite primers for Rhododendron shanii (Ericaceae), a narrowly distributed species found in the Dabie Mountains, China, to study the genetic diversity, population structure, and evolutionary history of the species. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two terminal sequencing modes of the Illumina HiSeq platform were used to mine simple sequence repeat markers from large‐scale transcriptional groups. In this study, 24 microsatellite loci were screened. The number of alleles ranged from one to 20, and the levels of observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and 0.000 to 0.918, respectively. Most of these primers were successfully amplified in eight congeneric species (R. annae, R. chihsinianum, R. decorum, R. denudatum, R. fortunei, R. neriiflorum, R. rex, and R. simiarum). CONCLUSIONS: These newly developed microsatellite loci will be useful for studying the genetic diversity and population structure of R. shanii and congeneric species.