Development and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers for Castanopsis hystrix (Fagaceae).

Castanopsis hystrix is one of the most important and dominant species in evergreen broad-leaved forests in subtropical China. However, the population of this species undergone severe decline because of deforestation over the past 2 decades. For both conservation and forestry management, it is essential to develop molecular markers for C. hystrix. We identified 11 microsatellite loci in 2 wild populations. The number of alleles ranged from 3-11, with an average of 6.45 alleles per locus. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.640-0.960 and from 0.676-0.910, respectively.