Development of 34 New Microsatellite Markers from Actinidia arguta: Intra- and Interspecies Genetic Analysis

The present study investigated the isolation and characterization of 34 polymorphic microsatellite markers developed from Actinidia arguta (Sieb. and Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq. var arguta. These markers produced 349 alleles in eight Actinidia species, with an average of 10.3 alleles per locus. Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.50 to 0.87 (mean = 0.72), and polymorphism information content ranged from 0.37 to 0.88 (mean = 0.69). The phylogenetic relationship obtained using microsatellite markers showed minor clustering and population differences among species while 38 A. arguta accessions fell into two subgroups. These newly developed polymorphic microsatellite markers will be very useful in sustainable genetic conservation, marker-assisted breeding, and classification of the Actinidia genus.