ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF 15 MICROSATELLITE MARKERS FROM THE SPRING ORCHID (CYMBIDIUM GOERINGII) (ORCHIDACEAE)

Premise of the study : Microsatellite primers were developed for the important and popular ornamental spring orchid, Cymbidium goeringii, to investigate its genetic diversity and population genetic structure. Methods and Results : Using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences Containing (FIASCO) repeats protocol, 15 primer sets were identified in two wild populations. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 5, with a mean of 3.3. The observed and expected heterozygosities varied from 0.167 to 0.917 and from 0.159 to 0.822, respectively. All these primers successfully amplified in the congener C. tortisepalum, and 12 primers were found useful in C. faberi and C. sinense. Conclusions : These markers will facilitate further studies on the population genetics of Cymbidium goeringii and other congeneric species.