Abstract
Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) is a perennial vine native to eastern Asia and an invasive in the United States, representing a significant threat to biodiversity. We characterized 15 polymorphic microsatellite loci in four populations from both the native and invasive ranges of kudzu. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 8 and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.0 to 0.9. Consistent with vegetative reproduction, loci were initially not in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and in linkage disequilibrium but when clones were removed, markers were in HWE and in linkage equilibrium. These loci provide valuable tools to study the diversity and invasion history of an important invasive species.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation’s Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) program (OISE 0730218). KEB was supported by NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (DGE0903734).
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Hoffberg, S.L., Bentley, K.E., Lee, J.B. et al. Characterization of 15 microsatellite loci in kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) from the native and introduced ranges. Conservation Genet Resour 7, 403–405 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-014-0381-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-014-0381-7