| Summary: | Premise of the study: Microsatellite loci were developed for the understudied root crop yam bean (<i>Pachyrhizus</i> spp.) to investigate intraspecific diversity and interspecific relationships within the genus <i>Pachyrhizus</i>.
Methods and Results: Seventeen nuclear simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers with perfect di- and trinucleotide repeats were developed from 454 pyrosequencing of SSR-enriched genomic libraries. Loci were characterized in <i>P. ahipa</i> and wild and cultivated populations of four closely related species. All loci successfully cross-amplified and showed high levels of polymorphism, with number of alleles ranging from three to 12 and expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.095 to 0.831 across the genus.
Conclusions: By enabling rapid assessment of genetic diversity in three native neotropical crops, <i>P. ahipa</i>, <i>P. erosus</i>, and <i>P. tuberosus</i>, and two wild relatives, <i>P. ferrugineus</i> and <i>P. panamensis</i>, these markers will allow exploration of the genetic diversity and evolutionary history of the genus <i>Pachyrhizus</i>.
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