Isolation and Characterization of Twenty-four Microsatellite Loci for Rhododendron decorum Franch. (Ericaceae)

Rhododendron decorum is a common species in southwest China and northeast Myanmar, in which the flowers have been eaten as a favorite vegetable. We isolated and characterized 24 microsatellite primer pairs from this species. The number of alleles ranged from two to seven. The observed and expected heterozygosities (H-O and H-E) were 0.3830 to 0.7855 and 0 to 0.7917, respectively. Eleven loci were significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium as a result of the heterozygote deficiency. Cross-species amplification in another eight Rhododendron species showed their potential use for evolutionary and conservation studied in this genus. These markers will be useful to reveal the genetic population structure and genetic diversity of R. decorum.