Microsatellite Primer Development for Post Oak, <i>Quercus stellata</i> (Fagaceae)

Premise of the study: The American Cross Timbers forest ecosystem runs from southeastern Kansas to Central Texas and is primarily composed of post oak (<i>Quercus stellata</i>). This old-growth forest currently occupies only about 2% of its ancestral range. To facilitate genetic research on this species, we developed microsatellite primers specific to post oak from reduced genomic libraries. Methods and Results: Two <i>Q. stellata</i> individuals, sampled from the northern and southern range of the post oak forest, were subject to genomic reduction and 454 pyrosequencing. Bioinformatic analysis identified putative microsatellites from which 12 polymorphic primer sets were screened on three populations. The number of alleles observed ranged from five to 20 across all populations, while observed and expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0.05 to 0.833 and 0.236 to 0.893, respectively, within individual populations. Conclusions: We report the development of microsatellite markers, specific to post oak, to aid the study of genetic diversity and population structure of extant forest remnants.