Extinct in the wild: The precarious state of Earth's most threatened group of species.

Extinct in the Wild (EW) species are placed at the highest risk of extinction under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, but the extent and variation in this risk have never been evaluated. Harnessing global databases of ex situ animal and plant holdings, we report on the perilous state of EW species. Most EW animal species-already compromised by their small number of founders-are maintained at population sizes far below the thresholds necessary to ensure demographic security.

Author Correction: Ex situ seed banks and the IUCN Red List.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Isolation of microsatellite primers for Melampyrum sylvaticum (Orobanchaceae), an endangered plant in the United Kingdom.

Premise Of The Study: Microsatellite markers were developed for the hemiparasitic plant Melampyrum sylvaticum to investigate the breeding system, genetic diversity, and structure of populations in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Norway.

Methods And Results: Microsatellites were isolated from genomic DNA using an enrichment protocol. Twenty-nine loci were characterized in two individuals from each of 15 geographically disparate populations ("global").