Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from Pinus massoniana (Pinaceae)

Pinus massoniana is widespread in the central and eastern mainland China, while distributed in Taiwan with a single population. This island population has been declining due to habitat destruction and pine wilt disease. In the study we isolated microsatellite loci from P. massoniana for investigating the population structure. Eleven, novel microsatellite markers were developed from P massoniana by using a modified PCR-based isolation of microsatellite arrays (PIMA) method. The number of alleles, observed and expected heterozygosities across loci varied with a range of 2-9, 0.00-0.82 and 0.40-0.83, respectively. The application of these microsatellite markers of P massoniana provides a tool for understanding demography and population structure in Taiwan and mainland China.