Microsatellite markers for Xerophyta dasylirioides (Velloziaceae), an endimic species on Malagasy Inselbergs

Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed in the endemic Malagasy inselberg species Xerophyta dasylirioides (Velloziaceae), to explore the impact of its island-like distribution on genetic diversity and gene flow. Methods and Results: A total of 7110 perfect microsatellite loci were recovered by shotgun sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq platform. Primer pairs were designed for 40 arbitrarily selected loci. Fifteen primer pairs that generated distinct PCR products were used to genotype 80 X. dasylirioides individuals from three Malagasy inselberg populations. All markers were polymorphic, revealing two to 17 alleles in the overall sampling. Observed and expected heterozygosities per locus ranged from zero to 1.0 and from zero to 0.85, respectively. Success rates of cross-amplification in ten additional species of Xerophyta ranged from zero to 70%.