Development of microsatellite markers for the annual andromonoecious herb Commelina communis f. Ciliata (commelinaceae)

Abstract

Commelina communis f. ciliata (Commelinaceae), a newly distinguished taxon, is an annual andromonoecious herb exhibiting a mixed mating system, the details of which remain unclear. We developed microsatellite markers for use in exploring the evolution of andromonoecy and mixed mating in the species. Fifteen microsatellite loci were developed using next-generation sequencing. The primer sets were used to evaluate 65 C. communis f. ciliata individuals from three populations in Japan; we found 1–13 alleles per locus and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.00 to 0.76. The markers are potentially useful to examine intra-and inter-species genetic structure and the mixed mating strategy of Commelina species via paternity analysis.