Microsatellite loci for a sparsely distributed species, Kalopanax pictus (Araliaceae) in Japanese temperate forests

摘要

We identified seven polymorphic microsatellite loci that can be used to evaluate distances of pollen movement and seed dispersal in a sparsely distributed tree species, Kalopanax pictus (Araliaceae), in Japanese temperate forests. The leaves of K. pictus are damaged by a fungal disease, Mycosphaerella acanthopanacis, and the intensity and frequency of the infections are positively correlated with adult tree density. In order to infer the optimal density of K. pictus and the processes of regeneration in the presence of the fungal disease, we developed microsatellite markers. The numbers of alleles per locus ranged from seven to 17 with an average of 10.6. Expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.63 to 0.94 with an average of 0.79. Total exclusion probabilities from the seven loci for the first and second parents of seedlings were 0.9880 and 0.9999, respectively. Our results indicate that these loci will be useful for the analysis of gene flow.