Isolation and characterization of novel microsatellites for Abies koreana and A. nephrolepis (Pinaceae)

Abies koreana is an endemic and rare species from Korea and is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Although the genetic diversity assessment for current population of A. koreana needs to be performed urgently, no microsatellite markers have been developed for this species. In the present study, we developed 22 novel polymorphic microsatellite loci and the characteristics of these loci were determined in A. koreana as well as in Abies nephrolepis, the most closely related species, and these loci were compared with previously reported microsatellite markers developed for the Abies genus. Genomic sequence (161 Mbp; 325,776 reads) was obtained from one individual of A. koreana using Roche 454 GS-FLX Titanium sequencing and 19,258 repeat motifs were identified from it. A total of 288 primer pairs with high copy numbers of di-repeat motifs were evaluated for amplification in A. koreana and A. nephrolepis. A total of 71 primer pairs successfully amplified fragments, of which 22 showed polymorphisms in A. koreana and A. nephrolepis. The average expected diversity was 0.767 and 0.717 in A. koreana and A. nephrolepis, respectively; these heterozygosity levels were moderate compared to the previously reported microsatellite loci from Abies species. This is the first set of microsatellite markers developed for A. koreana as well as A. nephrolepis and further population genetic studies of both species and genetic delimitation can be carried out for the species conservation and management.