Abstract
Seven polymorphic nuclear microsatellite markers for Taxus baccata L. (English yew) were developed using an enriched-library method. An additional polymorphic SSR was obtained by testing eight primer pairs from the congeneric species Taxus sumatrana. Mendelian inheritance for the seven Taxus baccata SSRs was proved by genotyping 17 individuals and 124 megagametophytes (conifer seed haploid tissue). A total of 96 individuals from 5 different populations (10–26 samples per population) were used to estimate genetic diversity parameters. High levels of genetic diversity, with values ranging from 0.533 to 0.929 (6–28 alleles per SSR) were found. No linkage disequilibrium between pairs of loci was detected. All loci but one showed significant departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Excess of homozygosity was probably due to high inbreeding in English yew populations, an outcome of low effective population size and/or fragmented distribution. Highly polymorphic SSRs will be used to conduct population genetic studies at different geographical scales and to monitor gene flow.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by funds from Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (Project CGL2004-00223/BOS) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (Emergent Research Group 2005SGR00381), and by a Ph.D. grant from DURSI (Departament d’Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació; Generalitat de Catalunya) to M. Dubreuil (2004FI01255).
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Dubreuil, M., Sebastiani, F., Mayol, M. et al. Isolation and characterization of polymorphic nuclear microsatellite loci in Taxus baccata L.. Conserv Genet 9, 1665–1668 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-008-9515-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-008-9515-3