Testing of microsatellite primers with different populations of Eurasian spruces Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Picea obovata Ledeb.

From a clone library containing microsatellite DNA fragments of Norway spruce, seven pairs of primers were selected. These primers were tested as markers in the genetic structure analysis of nine populations of Eurasian spruce species Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Picea obovata Ledeb. Five pairs of these primers identified polymorphic loci with allele numbers ranging from 6 to 15. In the populations examined, the observed and expected heterozygosity values assessed at five loci varied from 0.1778 to 0.6556 and from 0.7800 to 0.900, respectively. In the populations examined, the values of Fst index varied from 0.0691 to 0.2551 with the mean value of 0.1318. On the dendrogram based on Nei genetic distances, the populations formed three groups: Pskov–Ciscarpathya, Komi–Tatarstan–Arkhangelsk, Kazakhstan–Karelia(natural)–Karelia(plantation)–Krasnoyarsk. Five of the primer pairs tested proved to be useful for analysis of the population genetic structure in Eurasian spruce species.