ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVEL MICROSATELLITE LOCI FOR THE ENDANGERED ORCHID CYPRIPEDIUM JAPONICUM (ORCHIDACEAE)

Premise of the study: Twenty- six microsatellite markers were developed for the endangered orchid Cypripedium japonicum (Orchidaceae) to estimate the clonal diversity and genetic structure of the remaining populations in Japan. Methods and Results: Microsatellite loci of C. japonicum were isolated using Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM) sequencing. The primer sets were tested on 55 ramets sampled from two populations in Japan. Sixteen loci showed polymorphism in at least one population, with two to five alleles per locus. Observed and expected heterozygosities for the two populations ranged from 0.00 to 0.92 and 0.00 to 0.71, respectively. Conclusions: The microsatellite markers developed here provide a useful tool to analyze clonal structure and sexual regeneration status and will help to manage the remaining genetic variation within C. japonicum.