Primer Note: Development of Highly Polymorphic Nuclear Microsatellite Markers for Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa)

We developed 32 microsatellite markers from an enriched genomic DNA library of hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa), one of the most important Japanese forestry conifer species. From a total of 1,056 cloned plasmids, 96 sequence-specific primer pairs were designed from 110 candidate clones. We selected 32 primers that showed successful amplification and marked polymorphism and evaluated their characteristics using DNA from 38 C. obtusa elite trees planted in the Forest Tree Breeding Center. The markers were highly polymorphic, with the number of alleles ranging from 8 to 32 (mean: 20.09), and expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.811 to 0.958 (mean: 0.901). Progress in breeding projects and studies of the ecological genetics of this species can be expected through the use of this enlarged marker pool.