Development of 18 novel microsatellite primers for Begonia fimbristipula (Begoniaceae), an endangered medicinal plant in China.

Premise Of The Study: Begonia fimbristipula (Begoniaceae) is a medicinal herb distributed in the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, and it is on the verge of extinction due to habitat destruction and deterioration of its ecosystem. Here we developed a set of highly polymorphic microsatellite markers for population genetic and conservation studies of this endangered medicinal plant.

Methods And Results: Using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining repeats (FIASCO) protocol, 18 polymorphic microsatellite markers were identified within 48 individuals from two geographic locations.