title: Development of 32 EST-SSR markers for Abies firma (Pinaceae) and their transferability to related species.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We developed simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for Abies firma, a conifer endemic in Japan, to facilitate evaluation of the population genetic structure in this species. •
  
  
  RESULTS
  We designed primers for 153 EST-SSRs identified from 486322 ESTs from A. sachalinensis ESTs, and tested 96 of them for PCR amplification. Thirty-two primers provided clear amplification, and 14 of those 32 displayed clear polymorphic patterns in multiple populations of A. firma and in two closely related species. The number of alleles per locus and mean expected heterozygosity ranged from one to six and 0 to 0.476, respectively. •
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The EST-SSR markers developed in this study may be useful for phylogeography and population genetic studies of A. firma. Successful amplifications were obtained for two other Abies species, suggesting that these markers may also be useful for similar applications in other fir species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Genetics, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan.
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uchiyama
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan ; Ministry of Environment, Godochosha No. 5, Kasumigaseki 1-2-2, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8975, Japan.
authors.forename: Sayaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.affiliation: Department of General Systems Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ishizuka
authors.affiliation: University of Tokyo Forests, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Genetics, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan ; Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsumura
keywords: Abies; Pinaceae; cross-amplification; expressed sequence tag; microsatellite; pyrosequencing