MICROSATELLITE MARKERS FOR POPULATION STUDIES OF THE SALT MARSH SPECIES JUNCUS ROEMERIANUS (JUNCACEAE)

Premise of the study: Juncus roemerianus (Juncaceae) is a foundational species and ecosystem engineer of salt marshes in the Gulf of Mexico. These ecosystems provide coastal flood attenuation, nurseries for important species, and other ecosystem services, but are experiencing significant decline. Nuclear microsatellite markers were developed for J. roemerianus to study genetic diversity and population structure for conservation and restoration efforts. Methods and Results: Illumina NextSeq high-throughput sequencing was used to develop a panel of 19 polymorphic microsatellite markers that were tested across individuals from three populations on the Gulf Coast. All markers were polymorphic, with observed and expected heterozygosities ranging from 0.212 to 0.828 and from 0.362 to 0.873, respectively. Allelic richness ranged from two to 13 alleles per locus with an average of 5.737. Conclusions: The 19 microsatellite markers are useful for population studies throughout the range of J. roemerianus. Three loci cross-amplified in the related taxon J. effusus.