Microsatellite markers from RNA-seq of 24 useful tropical trees

Twenty-four tropical tree species of value to small-scale farmers were chosen by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI). The list included nine species originating in Africa, five from Asia/Oceania, one with a natural distribution spanning both Africa and Asia, and nine originally from Latin America. RNA-seq was obtained for each species and assembled. The resulting transcripts were analysed for microsatellite repeats and SSR primer pairs were developed.