title: Development of EST-SSR markers for the invasive plant Tithonia diversifolia (Asteraceae).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Tithonia diversifolia (Asteraceae) is an invasive plant species that can outcompete natives and thus poses a great threat to biodiversity in introduced areas. Here, expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers were developed and characterized.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixteen polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from T. diversifolia using transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatic screening. The number of alleles per locus varied from two to four alleles in 48 individuals from three populations. Most of these primers also amplified in T. rotundifolia and some even in Parthenium hysterophorus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These markers are useful for investigating the genetic structure and evolutionary process of T. diversifolia, which may provide important information for better management.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Geobotany, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Landi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Geobotany, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Pin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Geobotany, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaokun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Geobotany, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yupeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Geng
keywords: Asteraceae; EST-SSR; Tithonia diversifolia; invasive species; transcriptome sequencing