Microsatellite analysis of Rafflesia cantleyi from the Rafflesia Conservation and Interpretive Centre, Bersia Timur and Gerik Forest Reserve, Perak, Malaysia

Located at Bersia Timur, the Rafflesia Conservation and Interpretive Centre (RCIC) was initiated by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and FELDA to boost research and conservation efforts of the iconic Rafflesia species in the state of Perak. It also plays a role in supporting the economy of local communities by promoting local eco-tourism, providing trainings to local tour-guides and involving them in conserving the Rafflesia population. As part of the R & D and conservation effort, genetic diversity assessment of Rafflesia cantleyi from RCIC and Gerik Forest Reserve (FR) was carried out. Bract samples from a total of eight and 35 R. cantleyi individuals of different flowering / anthesis stages were collected from RCIC and Gerik FR, respectively. We used nine polymorphic microsatellite markers for genotyping. Despite the small sample size (∼75% lesser compared with Gerik FR), the total number of alleles observed in RCIC is > 50% than that of Gerik FR, i.e., 33 compared to 57. The genetic diversity measure in terms of observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosities from both sites are comparable (RCIC: Ho = 0.5298, He = 0.5347; Gerik FR: Ho = 0.5145, He = 0.5868). Our findings suggest that the R. cantleyi population in Gerik FR is a suitable source for future translocation activities.