MICROSATELLITE MARKERS OF AN IMPORTANT MEDICINAL PLANT, EURYCOMA LONGIFOLIA (SIMAROUBACEAE), FOR DNA PROFILING.

• Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers of an important medicinal plant, Eurycoma longifolia (Simaroubaceae), were developed for DNA profiling and genetic diversity studies. • Methods and Results: Eighteen polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed for E. longifolia. The primers were designed from a genomic library enriched for dinucleotide (CT) repeats and screened on 32 samples from a natural population. The number of alleles detected per locus ranged from four to 16, while the observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.097 to 0.938. No significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was detected in all the 18 loci, and no linkage disequilibrium was found between these loci after conservative Bonferroni correction. • Conclusions: The 18 microsatellite markers of E. longifolia are highly polymorphic and informative. These markers would serve as an important tool for DNA profiling and genetic diversity studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]