Development of tetranucleotide microsatellite markers in Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon

Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon (P. kesiya) is one of the economically and ecologically important pine species in South-East Asian. 12 polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite markers were isolated from this species using a dual-suppression polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique and these markers were characterized in 24 individuals collected from a natural population in the Southern Vietnam. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 28, and expected heterozygosities of the 12 loci ranged from 0.198 to 0.954, with an average of 0.685. These polymorphic markers will serve as useful tools for studies of conservation genetics in P. kesiya and probably in its closely related species.