Genetic diversity analysis of Glycyrrhiza uralensis using 8 novel polymorphic microsatellite markers

Licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza spp.) is an important herb, but the major portion of the national demand is imported to Korea because the domestic production base is vulnerable. We performed basic molecular breeding research for domestic cultivation and production. All publicly available G. uralensis EST sequences, which totaled 56,089, were assembled into 4,821 unigenes and examined for microsatellites. Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were identified and 16 G. uralensis and 6 G. glabra accessions, which were collected from different locations, were genotyped using the microsatellites. Genetic diversity within the accessions was estimated by construction of a dendrogram. The dendrogram was clustered into two groups. The results showed that there is a correlative genetic relationship between species. The microsatellite markers were found to be useful for diversity analysis as they are able to successfully distinguish the Glycyrrhiza accessions.