CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYMORPHIC MICROSATELLITES FOR THE INVASIVE GRASS MICROSTEGIUM VIMINEUM (POACEAE)

Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed for the invasive plant Microstegium vimineum (Poaceae) to assess its population structure and to facilitate tracking of invasion expansion. Methods and Results: Using 454 sequencing, 11 polymorphic and six monomorphic microsatellite primer sets were developed for M. vimineum. The primer sets were tested on individuals sampled from six populations in the United States and China. The polymorphic primers amplified di-, tri-, and tetranucleotide repeats with three to 10 alleles per locus. Conclusions: These markers will be useful for a variety of applications including tracking of invasion dynamics and population genetics studies.