Isolation and characterization of nuclear microsatellite loci in the tropical tree Corythophora alta (Lecythidaceae)

Abstract

Studies of tropical plant population structure and gene flow are needed to estimate genetic repercussions of tropical deforestation. Twelve microsatellite loci were isolated for Corythophora alta (Lecythidaceae), a canopy tree at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, near Manaus, Brazil. These microsatellites will be used to estimate population structure and infer seed paternity. Loci were isolated with a subtractive hybridization method. Loci averaged 10.7 alleles per locus with high levels of heterozygosity. Four loci had significant deficits and one locus had a significant excess of heterozygotes compared to Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Many loci had high average probabilities of paternity exclusion.