Premise of the study: To enhance the understanding of the recent invasion process of the clonal waterweed Elodea nuttallii (Hydrocharitaceae), analyses of population structure and genotypic diversity need to be undertaken, for which genetic markers are needed.
Methods and results: High-throughput sequencing of DNA enriched for microsatellites was used to develop 24 loci that were characterized in E. nuttallii, 21 of which were polymorphic, with the number of alleles ranging from two to 10. In two populations, expected heterozygosity ranged among loci between zero and 0.796. In the congener E. canadensis, all markers yielded PCR products, 19 of which were polymorphic, with two to nine alleles and expected heterozygosity ranging from zero to 0.690 in two populations.
Conclusions: The markers described should be useful for future studies of population structure and clonal diversity of E. nuttallii as well as E. canadensis in their native and invasive range.
Keywords: Elodea canadensis; Elodea nuttallii; Hydrocharitaceae; clonality; invasive species.