Extinct in the wild: The precarious state of Earth's most threatened group of species.

Extinct in the Wild (EW) species are placed at the highest risk of extinction under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, but the extent and variation in this risk have never been evaluated. Harnessing global databases of ex situ animal and plant holdings, we report on the perilous state of EW species. Most EW animal species-already compromised by their small number of founders-are maintained at population sizes far below the thresholds necessary to ensure demographic security. Most EW plant species depend on live propagation by a small number of botanic gardens, with a minority secured at seed bank institutions. Both extinctions and recoveries are possible fates for EW species. We urgently call for international effort to enable the latter.

Author Correction: Ex situ seed banks and the IUCN Red List.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Isolation of microsatellite primers for Melampyrum sylvaticum (Orobanchaceae), an endangered plant in the United Kingdom.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Microsatellite markers were developed for the hemiparasitic plant Melampyrum sylvaticum to investigate the breeding system, genetic diversity, and structure of populations in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Norway. METHODS AND RESULTS: Microsatellites were isolated from genomic DNA using an enrichment protocol. Twenty-nine loci were characterized in two individuals from each of 15 geographically disparate populations ("global"). Seven polymorphic loci were further characterized in one population ("local"). The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to 12 in the global sample and one to seven in the local sample. The expected heterozygosity ranged from 0-0.75, the observed heterozygosity from 0-0.1, and the inbreeding coefficient from 0.84-1 in the local sample. CONCLUSIONS: The results show the utility of these novel polymorphic microsatellite markers for further conservation genetic analyses. The strong deficit of heterozygosity across all loci in the local sample suggests the species may be inbreeding.