Development of 21 microsatellite primers for Camellia pingguoensis (Theaceae) using 454 sequencing

Camellia pingguoensis is an endangered and valuable ornamental plant species. Here we isolated and characterized 21 polymorphic microsatellite loci for C. pingguoensis using 454 sequencing. The markers were tested on one population of C. pingguoensis var. terminalis and one population of closely related C. impressinevis. For C. pingguoensis, all of these loci showed polymorphism, and the number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 9. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.200 to 0.963 and from 0.246 to 0.868, respectively. These markers will be useful in the research on the population genetic structure, genetic diversity and planning conservation management of C. pingguoensis. These loci can also be used for other related Camellia species.