Microsatellite markers for Cariniana legalis (Lecythidaceae) and their transferability to C. estrellensis

• Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed in the neotropical tree species Cariniana legalis (Lecythidaceae) to investigate its genetic diversity, mating system, and gene flow. • Methods and Results: We identified 96 clones containing 82 repeat motifs from a genomic library enriched for (CT) 8 and (GT) 8 motifs. Primer pairs were developed for 13 microsatellite loci and validated in 51 C. legalis specimens and 26 C. estrellensis specimens. Eleven loci were polymorphic, revealing a maximum of two to 15 alleles per locus in C. legalis and three to 12 in C. estrellensis . For C. legalis , the observed ( H o ) and expected ( H e ) heterozygosities ranged from 0 to 0.99 and from 0.07 to 0.90, respectively. For C. estrellensis, H o and H e ranged from 0 to 0.96 and from 0.14 to 0.91, respectively. • Conclusions: The primers identified polymorphic loci that are suitable to study genetic diversity and structure, mating system, and gene flow in C. legalis and the related species C. estrellensis .