Premise of the study: We developed simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to facilitate population genetic studies on kānuka (Kunzea spp.; Myrtaceae).
Methods and results: A shotgun sequencing library was constructed from leaf material of K. robusta using a Roche 454 Junior sequencer, and a total of 3174 putative SSR regions were identified. Sixteen polymorphic markers were optimized for multiplex PCR on 10 endemic New Zealand Kunzea species. Each of these loci cross-amplified in all tested species. The amplified di-, tri-, and pentanucleotide repeats resulted in eight to 24 alleles per locus for a total of 220 specimens. The mean observed and expected heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.18 to 0.77 and 0.33 to 0.82, respectively.
Conclusions: The SSR markers we produced are valuable for phylogenetic and population studies on all endemic Kunzea spp. and may also be useful for studies on closely related Kunzea species from Australia.
Keywords: Kunzea; Myrtaceae; New Zealand; kānuka; simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers.