Isolation and characterization of 12 microsatellite loci for the tropical tree species Shorea maxwelliana and S. laevis (Dipterocarpaceae)

Shorea maxwelliana and S. laevis are characteristic tree species of lowland dipterocarp forests. A set of polymorphic microsatellite markers was isolated for gene flow research, particularly targeting the endangered S. maxwelliana. Micro-satellites were isolated from a microsatellite-enriched library of S. laevis. Primer pairs were designed for 144 loci, 12 of which exhibited high levels of polymorphism in S. maxwelliana, nine of these were also polymorphic for S. laevis. The number of alleles and observed heterozygosity ranged from 3 to 13 and 0.467 to 0.900, respectively. These markers will facilitate the direct estimation of gene flow within and among populations of both species.