Abstract
Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) is a critically endangered species endemic to China. In this study, we developed 11 novel microsatellite loci for this rare species and applied them to examine genetic variation of indigenous alligators from Changxing Nature Reserve and America-born Chinese alligators. The 11 polymorphic microsatellites presented a total of 31 alleles among 57 individuals scored, yielding an average of 2.82 alleles per locus. One allele was unique to the American population but four private alleles were detected in the Changxing population. The average expected and observed heterozygosities were 0.400 and 0.482 for the Changxing alligators and 0.520 and 0.621 for the America-born individuals, respectively. These microsatellite markers would be useful tools in the genetic examination of this endangered species.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Changxing Nature Reserve and Breeding Research Center for Chinese Alligator for offering all the samples used in this study. This work was supported by the Major Research plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30730019) and a special grant from the state forestry administration of China (No. 2005-4-C04).
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Jing, W., Wang, XL., Lan, H. et al. Eleven novel microsatellite markers for the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis). Conserv Genet 10, 543–546 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-008-9561-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-008-9561-x