Paeonia (Paeoniaceae) expressed sequence tag-derived microsatellite markers transferred to Paeonia delavayi

Paeonia Franchet contains approximately 30 species of perennial herbs and is the only member of the family Paeoniaceae. Paeonia delavayi is an endangered ornamental plant that has a compound flower color and is endemic to southwest China. Its optimal habitats have been fragmented and its population size has greatly decreased as a result of human activities. Using a modified biotin-streptavidin capture method, 51 primer sets were identified in 3 wild populations of P. delavayi in this study. Ten primers displayed polymorphisms and 41 amplified no products, gave weak or indistinct bands, or gave larger sizes than expected. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 1 to 3, and the values for observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.000 to 0.571 and from 0.000 to 0.509, with averages of 0.113 and 0.295, respectively. These markers will be useful for further investigations in resource conservation, selection of parental types in cross-breeding, the molecular evolution of this species, and for related research in Paeonia species.