Isolamento, caracterização e transferência de marcadores microssatélites para Vriesea carinata Wawra (Bromeliaceae) desenvolvidos in silico

Abstract

Bromeliads are typical plants of the New World and have been widely used for various purposes such as ornamentation, fibers, fodder, food, medicinal, among others. Vriesea is the second largest genus of the subfamily Tillandsioideae, being composed of native species from South America, mainly from Brazil, covering the South and Southeast regions of the country. They are mainly epiphytic plants, and have aerial roots exposed to the humid atmosphere. Vriesea carinata is a small species, has a red inflorescence with yellow border of bracts and also yellow flowers, being quite attractive for hummingbirds and much sought after for ornamentation of baskets and floral arrangements. In the present study, thirty microsatellite markers were developed and characterized from an RNA enriched library of V. carinata. Of these, seventeen microsatellite loci had satisfactory amplification, of which thirteen were polymorphic and tested in three natural populations of V. carinata. The results indicated a relatively high expected heterozygosity (HE = 0.682), but there is a heterozygote deficit compared to the heterozygosity values obtained (HO = 0.456). The allelic richness ranged from 2,395 to 2,722 and the number of alleles ranged from four to 15 with an average of 7.23 alleles per locus. Heterologous amplification was performed in 15 species of three subfamilies of Bromeliaceae. Of the 13 developed loci, four amplified in more than 50% of the species, suggesting its potential usefulness in studies on population genetics involving other bromeliad’s species. All microsatellite markers developed here may be used in future studies to evaluate genetic diversity and may propose effective conservation strategies based on the results obtained.