Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed for the gynodioecious Chinese endemic Thalictrum smithii (Ranunculaceae).
Methods and results: Thirty-nine microsatellite primers were developed using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining repeats (FIASCO) method. Thirteen microsatellite loci were found to be highly polymorphic after screening 114 specimens (60 hermaphrodite and 54 female) from three T. smithii populations. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 13, and the levels of observed and expected heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and from 0.204 to 0.834, respectively. Twenty-six of these primers were polymorphic in T. petaloideum and T. finetii.
Conclusions: These markers will be useful for examining genetic diversity, polyploidy, and mating system in populations of T. smithii and for guiding study on the evolution of speciation in Thalictrum.
Keywords: Ranunculaceae; Thalictrum; Thalictrum smithii; genetic diversity; microsatellites; polymorphism.