Microsatellite markers isolated from the wild medicinal plant Centella asiatica (Apiaceae) from an enriched genomic library.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY

Microsatellite markers for Centella asiatica, an important medicinal herb, were developed and characterized to promote genetic and molecular studies.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A GA/GT-enriched genomic library was constructed from an accession from Madagascar. Roughly 75% of the 768 clones of the enriched library contained microsatellites. Eighty sequences containing microsatellites were obtained from 96 positive clones. Specific primers were designed for 20 loci, and 17 of them displayed polymorphism when screened across 17 C. asiatica accessions, with an average of 4.3 alleles per locus. The observed and expected heterozygosity values averaged 0.114 and 0.379, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first report constructing an enriched genomic library and identifying microsatellite markers from C. asiatica. These 17 polymorphic microsatellite markers are a useful resource for this plant, applicable for diversity studies, pedigree analyses, and genetic mapping.