Let E be a second countable locally compact Hausdorff space and let L be a linear operator with domain D(L) and range R(L) in C0(E). Suppose that D(L) is dense in E and that the operator L possesses the Korovkin property or, more generally, the Stone property with respect to some large collection of continuous functions (cf. Definition 3.8). For every x∈E the martingale problem is well-posed if and only if there exists a unique extension of L that generates a Feller semigroup in C0(E). Next let L0 be the generator of a Feller semigroup in C0(E) and let L1 and T be linear operators with the following properties: the operator I–T has range D(L1), the domain of L1, L1 verifies the maximum principle, the vector sum of the spaces R(I–T) and R(L1(I–T)) is dense in C0(E), and [Formula: see text]. Then there exists at most one linear extension L of the operator L1 for which LT is bounded and that generates a Feller semigroup. Similarly, if the martingale problem is solvable for L1, then it is uniquely solvable for L1, provided that the operator [Formula: see text] is a bounded linear map in C0(E). Here (ℙx, X(t)) is a solution to the martingale problem for L1. Some related results for dissipative operators in a Banach space are presented as well.