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Cross-species amplification of microsatellite primers in passerine birds

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Abstract

Developing species specific microsatellite primers can be avoidedby using existing markers which amplify across species. However,for passerines, such ‘cross-species’ markers are mostly lackingand few guidelines exist for selecting them from the wide rangeof existing markers. Here cross-species amplification tests of 40microsatellite primers in 13 passerine species show an increasein probability of amplification and polymorphism with decreasingphylogenetic distance. Primers which successfully amplified inmany species had a higher chance to be polymorphic. However,since the amplification success, across a broad range of species,of particular primersets remains difficult to predict it iscrucial to identify such markers empirically. Here we describesuch widely applicable bird (passerines) microsatellite markers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Animal Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp (UIA), Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610, Wilrijk, Belgium

    Peter Galbusera

  2. Laboratory of Animal Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp (UIA), Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610, Wilrijk, Belgium

    Stefan van Dongen & Erik Matthysen

Authors
  1. Peter Galbusera
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  2. Stefan van Dongen
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  3. Erik Matthysen
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Correspondence to Peter Galbusera.

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Galbusera, P., van Dongen, S. & Matthysen, E. Cross-species amplification of microsatellite primers in passerine birds. Conserv Genet 1, 163–168 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026587024065

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