POLYMORPHIC MICROSATELLITE MARKERS IN THE INVASIVE SHRUB BUDDLEJA DAVIDII (SCROPHULARIACEAE)

Premise of the study : Microsatellite primers were developed for the invasive plant Buddleja davidii, a Chinese shrub that is an invader in most other continents. Methods and Results: An invasive population was analyzed using eight di- and tetranucleotide microsatellite loci. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 5 to 14. Due to polyploidy, exact genotypes could not be determined. Progeny arrays were used to study the outcrossing rate using presence/absence data of alleles resulting in an estimate of multilocus outcrossing rate of 93%. The markers were successfully tested in five congeneric species. Conclusions: The results indicate the utility of these loci in future studies of population genetics and breeding systems in B. davidii and in congeneric species.