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Nine new microsatellite markers (SSR) were isolated from Salvia officinalis L. A total of 125 alleles, with 8 to 21 alleles per locus, were detected in a natural population from the east Adriatic coast. The observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity, and polymorphic information content ranged from 0.46 to 0.83, 0.73 to 0.93 and 0.70 to 0.92, respectively. New microsatellite markers, as well as previously published markers, were tested for cross-amplification in Salvia brachyodon Vandas, a narrow endemic species known to be present in only two localities on the Balkan Peninsula. Out of 30 microsatellite markers tested on the natural S. brachyodon population, 15 were successfully amplified. To obtain evidence of recent bottleneck events in the populations of both species, observed genetic diversity (HE) was compared to the expected genetic diversity at mutation-drift equilibrium (HEQ) and calculated from the observed number of alleles using a two-phased mutation model (TPM). Recent bottleneck events were detected only in the S. brachyodon population. This result suggests the need to reconsider the current threat category of this endemic species.

Salvia officinalis (Lamiaceae), common or Dalmatian sage, is a Mediterranean aromatic and medicinal plant used in medicine since ancient times. Knowledge on current genetic patterns and genealogical history of its natural populations is required for both breeding efforts and species conservation. We used sequences of two chloroplast intergenic spacers, 3'rps16-5'trnK and rp132-trnL, from 83 individuals from eight natural populations to distinguish between anthropogenic vs natural origin of four disjunct inland populations found outside of the main Adriatic range of the species. We found seven haplotypes, high total gene diversity (H-r = 0.695) and genetic differentiation (G(ST) = 0.682), as well as a phylogeographic structure with two lineages, a sub-structured inland-Adriatic lineage (IAL, comprising inland and Adriatic sub-lineages) and a purely Adriatic lineage (PAL). All four inland and disjunct populations, which comprised the inland sub-lineage of IAL, were almost fixed for a distinct haplotype genealogically closely related to the ancestral haplotype and displayed other features of relict populations. Along with previous biogeographic data and other lines of evidence, assumptions on their anthropogenic origin were rejected. At present, a less diverse IAL (Hd = 0.426, pi = 0.00106) and a more diverse PAL (Hd = 0.403, pi = 0.00257), whose divergence was dated to the Pliocene (3.267 Mya), do not exhibit signs of recent demographic expansions and overlap on the SE Adriatic coast, a region delineated as the main glacial refugium of S. officinalis. Conservation measures accounting for the historical distinctiveness of populations and focusing on currently the most threatened populations are recommended.

Nine new microsatellite markers (SSR) were isolated from Salvia officinalis L. A total of 125 alleles, with 8 to 21 alleles per locus, were detected in a natural population from the east Adriatic coast. The observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity, and polymorphic information content ranged from 0.46 to 0.83, 0.73 to 0.93 and 0.70 to 0.92, respectively. New microsatellite markers, as well as previously published markers, were tested for cross-amplification in Salvia brachyodon Vandas, a narrow endemic species known to be present in only two localities on the Balkan Peninsula. Out of 30 microsatellite markers tested on the natural S. brachyodon population, 15 were successfully amplified. To obtain evidence of recent bottleneck events in the populations of both species, observed genetic diversity (H$_E$) was compared to the expected genetic diversity at mutation-drift equilibrium (H$_{EQ}$) and calculated from the observed number of alleles using a two-phased mutation model (TPM). Recent bottleneck events were detected only in the S. brachyodon population. This result suggests the need to reconsider the current threat category of this endemic species.

 Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were identifi ed to study the genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and relationships of common sage and closely related species.  Methods and Results: Nine novel polymorphic trinucleotide microsatellite loci were identifi ed for Salvia offi cinalis . A total of 127 alleles were observed. The observed and expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0.375 to 0.880 and from 0.624 to 0.931, respectively. Nine new and 11 previously published microsatellite primers were tested for cross-amplifi cation. The species with the most successful cross-amplifi cation was S. fruticosa .  Conclusions: The nine new microsatellite markers will be useful in genetic studies of wild and cultivated populations of common sage and are potentially useful in genetic studies of closely related species.