Screening and Characterization of 11 Novel Microsatellite Markers from Viburnum dilatatum

Abstract

Viburnum dilatatum is a popular and economically important ornamental shrub. The wide range of desirable horticultural traits, paired with a propensity for seedlings to become invasive, has created interest in the genetics and breeding of this species. To investigate the genetic diversity of V. dilatatum, microsatellite loci were identified from a GT-enriched genomic library constructed from V. dilatatum ‘Asian Beauty’. Eleven microsatellite loci have been characterized on a group of 16 different related V. dilatatum cultivars and hybrids. Two to 12 alleles were identified per locus, and the polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.36 to 0.87. Expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.48 to 0.88 and observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranged from 0 to 0.73. This set of molecular markers also exhibited expected transferability between various V. dilatatum cultivars and two hybrids with V. japonicum. As a consequence, these markers will aid in breeding for new cultivar development, assist with early detection and screening of plants that have escaped cultivation, and are expected to help in refining the phylogenetic relationship of V. dilatatum to other species and genera within the Adoxaceae.