Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed in the traditional Tibetan medicinal plant Halenia elliptica D. Don to investigate its genetic diversity and population genetic structure.
Methods and results: Using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences Containing (FIASCO) repeats protocol, 24 primer sets were identified in two wild populations. Of these primers, 12 displayed polymorphisms and 12 were monomorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 6, with a mean of 3.9. The expected (H(E)) and observed (H(O)) heterozygosities ranged from 0.191 to 0.784 and from 0.417 to 0.917, respectively. All these primers successfully amplified in two close relatives of H. elliptica, Swertia bimaculata (Siebold & Zucc.) Hook. f. & Thomson ex C. B. Clarke and S. tetraptera Maxim.
Conclusions: These markers will facilitate further studies on the population genetics of Halenia elliptica and its allied species.