Cross-amplification of nuclear microsatellite markers in Aechmea distichantha Lem. (Bromeliaceae)

Abstract

Aechmea distichantha Lem. is a Bromeliaceae species with wide geographic distribution; it is found in Atlantic Forest, "Cerrado" and "Chaco" ecoregions from Tropical to Subtropical areas in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. The species has a great ornamental value and is currently threatened by its predatory exploration and by habitat loss. The lack of suitable molecular markers hampers research on its genetic diversity, which could contribute to the design of conservation plans and to demographic and phylogeographic studies of the species. Here, we tested the cross-amplification of 43 nuclear microsatellite markers, originally developed for other bromeliad species. We obtained high cross-amplification indices (37 SSR primers, 86%) and polymorphism (17 SSR primers, 46%). We then used ten SSR loci to genotype individuals from three populations of A. distichantha. The observed and expected heterozygosity per locus in the A. distichantha populations ranged from 0.182 to 0.735 and 0.297 to 0.830, respectively. These loci showed sufficient variability to be used in future the studies of genetic diversity, genetic structure and phylogeography of A. distichantha to understand its evolutionary history during its dispersal, colonization and adaptation to different ecoregions.

Development of microsatellite markers for horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), their polymorphism in natural Greek populations, and cross-amplification in related species

“…Additionally, reaction failures that may indicate the existence of interspecies sequence differences in the flanking DNA regions, which are targets for primers, may lead to a substantial null allele frequency, and in consequence, affect estimators of intra-and interpopulation diversity, leading to biased inferences. A locus that is polymorphic in one species may be monomorphic in another, or the products may be non-specific (Sugai et al, 2016;Godoy et al, 2019). Therefore, the development of new, polymorphic markers specific to the A. hippocastanum genome is necessary for accurate characterisation of the population structure and patterns of genetic diversity in remnant natural stands of the species.…”