Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for Emmenopterys henryi (Rubiaceae), a rare tree from China

? Premise of the study: Compound microsatellite primers were developed for Emmenopterys henryi, an endangered deciduous tree endemic to China, to assess its genetic diversity and population structure as well as its evolutionary history. ? Methods and Results: Using the compound microsatellite marker technique, 10 pairs of polymorphic microsatellite primers were isolated and characterized in E. henryi. Levels of polymorphism were tested across a total of 63 individuals from three natural populations. Allele numbers varied from 10 to 20 per locus, with an average of 14.50 alleles per locus. The observed heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.125 to 0.962, and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.377 to 0.903. ? Conclusions: The highly polymorphic markers developed and characterized in this study will facilitate evolutionary and population genetic studies in E. henryi.