Find in Library

Premise of the study: New microsatellites were developed for the seagrass <i>Thalassia hemprichii</i> (Hydrocharitaceae), a long-lived seagrass species that is found throughout the shallow waters of tropical and subtropical Indo-West Pacific. Three multiplex PCR panels were designed utilizing new and previously developed markers, resulting in a toolkit for generating a 16-locus genotype. Methods and Results: Through the use of microsatellite enrichment and next-generation sequencing, 16 new, validated, polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated. Diversity was between two and four alleles per locus totaling 36 alleles. These markers, plus previously developed microsatellite markers for <i>T. hemprichii</i> and <i>T. testudinum</i>, were tested for suitability in multiplex PCR panels. Conclusions: The generation of an easily replicated suite of multiplex panels of codominant molecular markers will allow for high-resolution and detailed genetic structure analysis and clonality assessment with minimal genotyping costs. We suggest the establishment of a <i>T. hemprichii</i> primer convention for the unification of future data sets.