title: Exon-primed intron-crossing (EPIC) markers for evolutionary studies of Ficus and other taxa in the fig family (Moraceae).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The genus Ficus (fig trees) comprises ca. 750 species of trees, vines, and stranglers found in tropical forests throughout the world. Fig trees are keystone species in many tropical forests, and their relationship with host-specific wasp pollinators has received much attention, although many questions remain unresolved regarding the levels of host specificity, cospeciation, and the role of hybridization in fig and wasp speciation. We developed exon-primed intron-crossing (EPIC) markers to obtain phylogenetic resolution needed to address these questions. •
  
  
  RESULTS
  Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from F. elastica were compared to Arabidopsis and Populus genomes to locate introns and to design primers in flanking exons. Primer pairs for 80 EPIC markers were tested in samples from divergent clades within Ficus and the outgroup Poulsenia (Moraceae). •
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thirty-one EPIC markers were successfully sequenced across Ficus, and 29 of the markers also amplified in Poulsenia, indicating broad transferability within Moraceae. All of the EPIC markers were polymorphic and showed levels of polymorphism similar to that of the widely used internal transcribed spacer (ITS).
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, People's Republic of China ; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1048 USA.
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources, Shanghai Ocean University, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chenhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1048 USA ; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, P.O. Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama.
authors.forename: Christopher W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Dick
keywords: Ficus; Moraceae; exons; nuclear DNA markers; phylogeny; transcriptome