Identification of microsatellite loci in Opuntia spp. and their characterization in cultivars and species

We report on the development of 10 microsatellites isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica. To evaluate the degree of polymorphism of these markers, a range of cultivars from the germplasm collection established at the Experimental Station of the University of Sassari has been tested. DNA from 12 Opuntia species was also used to test transferability of the developed primers. The level of polymorphism and the relatively high number of alleles detected ranging from 6 to 22 suggest that these markers can be used for both inter- and intra-specific studies, as well as to analyze the polyploidy occurrence in Opuntia.