Development of microsatellite markers for the endangered medicinal plant Launaea arborescens (Asteraceae).

Premise Of The Study: Microsatellite loci were developed in Launaea arborescens, an endangered and medicinal Asteraceae species in North Africa, for further investigation of its conservation genetics. •

Methods And Results: We isolated and characterized 10 polymorphic and nine monomorphic microsatellite loci from L. arborescens using the protocol of Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining repeats (FIASCO). For the 10 polymorphic loci, the number of alleles detected per locus varied from two to six, and the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.000 to 0.833 and 0.059 to 0.713, respectively. •

Conclusions: The polymorphic markers provide a useful tool for conservation genetics studies of L. arborescens, including analysis of mating system, estimating gene flow, and identifying discrete genetic units within the species.