Premise of the study: Microsatellite loci were developed for Lathyrus japonicus (Fabaceae) to evaluate genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and demographic patterns of this species in Japan.
Methods and results: In total, eight primer sets were identified in Japanese populations of L. japonicus and polymorphisms were evaluated in 83 individuals from three populations, including the northern and southern geographic range in Japan. The number of alleles per locus ranged from four to 20, and gene diversity per locus ranged from 0.636 to 0.935 among three populations. In addition, six of the eight loci could be successfully amplified in L. pratensis.
Conclusions: These markers will be useful for studies of genetic variations, genetic structure, and gene flow of L. japonicus, which is important to investigate the demographic patterns of this coastal plant. In addition, the primers are useful for further genetic structure analysis of L. pratensis.