Isolation and characterization of microsatellites in the woody shrub, Banksia sphaerocarpa var. caesia (Proteaceae).

Microsatellite markers were developed for the Australian bird-pollinated woody shrub Banksia sphaerocarpa var. caesia to study gene flow among populations in a highly fragmented landscape. Eight loci were developed, and in a sample of 40 individuals from one population, the number of alleles per locus ranged from five to 21 and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.385 to 0.914. All eight loci showed independent inheritance. Analysis of open-pollinated progeny arrays confirmed Mendelian inheritance at seven loci, while null alleles were suspected at the remaining locus.