Development and characterization of microsatellite markers in astronotus crassipinis (Heckel, 1840)

Abstract

Astronotus crassipinis is an important freshwater fish in the Amazon basin. Little is known about their population structure and genetic diversity. They live in Amazon varzea lakes and are territorial fish practicing mouth brood. Studies involving populations of A. crassipinis are of great importance for the conservation and management of this species. Therefore, thirteen microsatellite markers were developed for this species and characterized in 30 accessions from lakes Preto and Ananá in Solimões river and lake Piranha, located in the system Negro-Solimões. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.00 to 0.72 and 0.25 to 0.58, respectively. Alleles per locus varied from two to six, with an average of three. Three loci departed significantly from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (P < 0.05) after Bonferroni correction. The value of Fis (f) ranged from -0.666 to 0.909 (average on -0.133). This new set of microsatellites will contribute towards studies of genetic diversity and conservation of A. crassipinis. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.