• Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed in the perennial herb Solidago altissima from populations within its introduced range in Japan to assess its population structure and to facilitate tracking of invasion expansion.• Methods and Results: Using 454 pyrosequencing, 16 microsatellite primer sets were developed for S. altissima. The primer sets were tested on 70 individuals sampled from three populations in Japan. The primers amplified di- and trinucleotide repeats with five to 25 alleles per locus, and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.46 to 0.92.• Conclusions: These results indicate the utility of primers in S. altissima for future research on a wide range of applications, including tracking of invasion dynamics and investigating population genetics of the species.
Hybridization between wild boar (Sus scrofa) and their domestic relative, pigs, is a global issue and gene flow between these populations has been known to negatively impact biodiversity with increased aggression, litter sizes, and growth. However, establishing a cost-effective analysis for long-term monitoring of possible gene flow of wild pigs into wild boar populations is challenging due to common alleles at multiple loci and often it is difficult to distinguish boar specific lineages. Therefore, there is a need to select loci with lineage specific alleles for hybrid detection. To determine these loci, we calculated allele frequencies and measurements from successfully amplified loci with DNA extracted from domestic pigs and wild boar populations from the period prior to, and after, the evacuations and disasters in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011, which resulted in an uncontrolled release of domestic pigs. Thirty-two loci showed pig putative alleles suggesting these selected loci can be useful genetic markers. Seventeen loci successfully distinguished pig and wild boar hybridization in Fukushima populations. Identified loci from this study provide a cost-efficient tool for genetic analysis and will provide a wealth of information on how an uncontrolled release of domestic livestock from natural or disasters may impact their wild relatives.
Using the complementary approaches of morphological and molecular taxonomy is essential to further our understanding of invertebrate diversity, including the identification of cryptic species. Although the species classification of a widespread group of arachnids, the pseudoscorpions, has been based on traditional diagnostic characters for a long time, recent taxonomic studies have suggested that some of these are unreliable for distinguishing species. Thus, the application of molecular taxonomy may be particularly useful in this group. Here, we performed molecular phylogenetic analyses and species delimitation analyses based on partial sequences of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase I and nuclear DNA 18S rRNA genes to assess the taxonomy of species and the reliability of morphological characteristics for distinguishing species in the Japanese soil-dwelling genus Mundochthonius (Chthoniidae). Our results revealed the existence of seven major genetic clades, likely corresponding to three described species and four cryptic species. Although two described species, M. kiyoshii and M. itohi, were represented by single clades in the phylogenetic analysis, a third, M. japonicus, was composed of multiple clades, highlighting inconsistencies between phylogenetic relationships and current species classifications using traditional morphological diagnostics. This study exemplifies the need for further exploration of pseudoscorpion taxonomy and species diversity. In particular, detailed morphological examinations are expected to help determine differences among cryptic species.
• Premise of the study: Nuclear microsatellite (simple sequence repeat [SSR]) markers were developed for the woody species Leptospermum recurvum found on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, to facilitate investigation of the genetic structure and patterns of gene flow in relation to leaf phenotypic polymorphisms.• Methods and Results: Eleven primer pairs were developed using the compound SSR marker technique. Ten of the 11 loci were polymorphic and their expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.04 to 0.83. Neither linkage disequilibrium nor departure from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were detected. All primer pairs also amplified the SSR loci of L. polygalifolium.• Conclusions: These findings suggest the utility of these primers for investigating genetic structure and gene flow in L. recurvum and indicate their applicability to another species of Leptospermum.
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