Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Santalum lanceolatum and Santalum leptocladum (Santalaceae)

Abstract

Santalum , or sandalwood, are hemiparasitic trees, with many species highly valued for their heartwood oils, resulting in widespread exploitation of the genus in the wild. One species has been recently classed as extinct, and of the remaining 15, one classed as endangered and two as vulnerable (IUCN, 2010). The detrimental impacts of harvesting being observed among many of the remaining unlisted species. Northern sandalwood, S. lanceolatum (R.Br.), is a wide-spread Australian species harvested for oil since the 1800s. Recently, S. lanceolatum sensu lato was revised taxonomically and a southern segregate species, S. leptocladum , defi ned ( Harbaugh, 2007 ). Here we report on the development of fi ve novel microsatellite loci for use in S. lanceolatum and S. leptocladum and the characterization of three microsatellite loci designed for S. insulare ( Lhuillier et al., 2006 ) and S. austrocaledonicum ( Bottin et al., 2005 ) for use in S. lanceolatum and S. leptocladum.