Development of polymorphic microsatellite markers of the endangered and endemic Vateriopsis seychellarum (Dipterocarpaceae), a relict canopy tree of the Seychelles

The Dipterocarpaceae are a globally significant family of tropical timber trees. They are especially dominant in lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia, but have a pan tropical distribution. Vateriopsis seychellarum is the sole representative of this family on the Seychelles. Historically one of the dominant canopy trees on Mahe, extensive overexploitation of this species for its timber has led to its virtual extinction. The last individuals of this species are found in small fragmented populations at lower altitudes (up to 400 m) on the island of Mahe where the total number of known reproductive adults is 112. We developed ten polymorphic microsatellite loci for this species to enable us to quantify the levels of diversity in remnant populations and to study genetic structure and contemporary gene flow. In addition we tested for cross amplification of these alleles in the closely related but geographically disjunct species Vateria indica. In Vateriopsis seychellarum the number of alleles per locus ranged from 6 to 20 (mean of 11.4 per locus) with an average polymorphic information content of 0.73 across loci. Expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.40 to 0.71 with 3 of the 10 loci showing deviation from Hardy–Weinberg expectations. 8 of the 10 primers showed cross amplification in Vateria indica. These markers will help to provide a better understanding of the significance of historic distributions, gene flow and recent anthropogenic habitat degradation for the survival of widespread species in recently fragmented landscapes.