Isolation and characterization ofmicrosatellitemarkers for Acacia senegal (L.)Willd., amultipurpose arid and semi-arid tree

Abstract : Acacia senegal is a multipurpose African tree that improves the soil fertility of degraded areas. The species is exploited mainly for gum arabic, but it also supplies fuel wood and fod- der for animals. Despite its wide distribution in Africa, no microsatellite markers have yet been characterized for this species. In this study, we characterized 11 polymorphic microsatel- lite loci specifically designed for A. senegal and analysed 247 individuals from three popula- tions from Niger. On average, 10.9 alleles per locus were detected and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.160 to 0.794, showing the ability of the markers to detect genetic diversity in this species.