Abstract
Fourteen microsatellite loci were developed for the eastern rock sengi, Elephantulus myurus Thomas & Schwann, 1906 by incorporating genetic diversity from across its range in South Africa. Sengis are small mammals belonging to the order Macroscelidea, which comprises 19 species, all of which are endemic to Africa. The loci were amplified in 66 individuals from six localities. An average of 10.5 alleles per locus were identified, with observed and expected heterozygosity values ranging from 0.081 to 0.909 and 0.404 to 0.911, respectively. We also investigated cross-species amplification within the family and found variation in amplification success for five different species. The preliminary results from these amplification efforts could aid further studies into aspects of species diversity and biology. The markers described here represent the first set of variable nuclear markers for the genus Elephantulus, and together with a set of 8 recently developed markers for Rhynchocyon petersi, Bocage 1880, the first markers for the order Macroscelidea.
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Acknowledgments
Animals were collected under permit numbers 0089-RAP001-00001 and ZA/LP/HO/1633 issued by the Limpopo Provincial Government. Samples were also kindly donated by Duncan MacFadyen (E. Oppenheimer & Son) and Nico Avenant (National Museum, Bloemfontein). The study was conducted under ethics project approval from the University of Pretoria (EC037-14) and the University of Johannesburg (approved April 2015). The work was financially supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (BvV), the University of Johannesburg and the DST-NRF SARChi Chair of Behavioural Ecology and Physiology (NCB). Electrophoresis of microsatellite markers was done at the Analytical Facility based at Stellenbosch University. Pierre-Alexandre Rastorgueff, Daniela Monsanto, Guila Ganem and Catharina Groenewald are thanked for valuable discussions and assistance. We also thank Dr. Tetsuo Gotoh and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments during the review process.
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Sasha Hoffmann and Heather J. Webster contributed equally to the work.
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Hoffmann, S., Webster, H.J., Teske, P.R. et al. Characterization of 14 polymorphic microsatellite loci developed for an Afrotherian species endemic to southern Africa, Elephantulus myurus (Macroscelidea: Macroscelididae). Appl Entomol Zool 52, 139–145 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-016-0448-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-016-0448-x