Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from the endangered highlands scrub hypericum ( Hypericum cumulicola).

We report the isolation of 19 primer pairs for amplification of polymorphic microsatellite loci for Hypericum cumulicola. These markers were evaluated in 24 individuals from one population; two to four alleles were detected per locus, and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0 to 0.5. Two loci demonstrated significant heterozygote deficiencies, possibly due to null alleles, and significant linkage disequilibrium was found between six pairs of loci. The remaining microsatellite loci will help determine if genetic differentiation is responsible for life-history differences between natural and anthropogenically disturbed populations of H. cumulicola. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]