Microsatellite markers in tropical legume (Centrosema pubescens Benth): development, characterization, and cross-species amplification in Centrosema sp

Abstract

Centrosema pubescens Benth is a forage legume widespread in tropical America. Twenty-six polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized in 15 genotypes of C. pubescens from the Cerrados Research Center Germplasm Bank of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). The number of alleles observed for each locus ranged from 2 to 5, with an average of 3 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content (PIC) varied between 0.39 and 0.86 (average 0.57) and the discriminating power (D) ranged from 0.45 to 0.98 (average 0.68). The observed heterozygosity (Ho) and the expected heterozygosity (He) were 0.01–0.81 and 0.10–0.86, respectively. A cross-amplification test in 11 Centrosema species suggested potential transferability of these microsatellites. The data indicated that the polymorphic microsatellite markers developed in this work should be useful for assessing genetic diversity in further breeding programs and germplasm conservation.