Conserved microsatellites in ants enable population genetic and colony pedigree studies across a wide range of species.

ABSTRACT: Broadly applicable polymorphic genetic markers are essential tools for population genetics, and different types of markers have been developed for this purpose. Microsatellites have been employed as particularly polymorphic markers for over 20 years. However, PCR primers for microsatellite loci are often not useful outside the species for which they were designed. This implies that a new set of loci has to be identified and primers developed for every new study species. To overcome this constraint, we identified 45 conserved microsatellite loci based on the eight currently available ant genomes and designed primers for PCR amplification. Among these loci, we chose 24 for in-depth study in six species covering six different ant subfamilies. On average, 11.16 of these 24 loci were polymorphi

SUBMITTER: Butler IA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4170976 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature