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Low levels of polymorphism at novel microsatellite loci developed for bathyergid mole-rats from South Africa

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Abstract

Eight microsatellite markers were developed for African mole-rats using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences Containing repeats (FIASCO) protocol and pyrosequencing. The markers were developed in Bathyergus suillus and applied to a selection of individuals from seven related taxa: Bathyergus janetta, Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus, C. h. pretoriae, Fukomys damarensis, F. darlingi, F. mechowii and Georychus capensis. The markers displayed low to moderate variation with allele numbers ranging between one and six per species. We propose that larger repeat numbers at di-, tri- and tetranucleotide repeat loci generally yield higher levels of polymorphism.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation for funding from the SARCHi Chair for Mammal Behavioural Ecology and Physiology awarded to NCB. Hannah Thomas is thanked for providing sample tissues from animals. Funding was also provided by the University of Pretoria in provision of TCB’s postdoctoral fellowship. This work is based upon research supported by the National Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Ecology and Evolution Programme, Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    T. C. Bray & P. Bloomer

  2. Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    N. C. Bennett

Authors
  1. T. C. Bray
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  2. N. C. Bennett
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  3. P. Bloomer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. C. Bray.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

See Table 3.

Table 3 Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) results for each locus when compared with the Mus musculus genome including identity, positional information and reference number
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Bray, T.C., Bennett, N.C. & Bloomer, P. Low levels of polymorphism at novel microsatellite loci developed for bathyergid mole-rats from South Africa. Conservation Genet Resour 3, 221–224 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-010-9327-x

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