Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed for studies of polyploid evolution, ecological genetics, conservation genetics, and species delimitation in the genus Solidago. •
Methods and results: Illumina sequencing of a shotgun library from S. gigantea identified ca. 1900 putative single-copy loci. Fourteen loci were subsequently shown to be amplifiable, single-copy, and variable in a broad range of Solidago species. •
Conclusions: The utility of these markers both across the genus and in herbarium specimens of a wide age range will facilitate numerous inter- and intraspecific studies in the ca. 120 Solidago species.
Keywords: Asteraceae; Illumina sequencing; Solidago; polyploidy; simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers.