Trinucleotide repeat microsatellite markers for Black Poplar (Populus nigra L.)

Using an enrichment procedure, we have cloned microsatellite repeats from black poplar (Populus nigra L.) and developed primers for microsatellite marker analysis. Ten primer pairs, mostly for trinucleotide repeats, produced polymorphic fragments in P. nigra. Some of them also showed amplification in other poplar species. (P. deltoides, P. tricocarpa, P. tremula, P. tremuloides, P. candicans, P. lasiocarpa). The best six loci were tested on 23 P. nigra genotypes collected across Europe. The microsatellites produced up to 12 alleles per locus in this set, with observed heterozygosity between 0.32 and 0.91.