Isolation and development microsatellite markers in the Pygocentrus nattereri (Kner, 1858) (Characiformes, Serrasalminae), an important freshwater fish in the Amazon

Abstract

The red-bellied piranha belongs to the Pygocentrus genus, and is a representative of the Serrasalmidae family. The P. nattereri is the most abundant species in the floodplain of the Solimões-Amazonas river system. In the present work, 11 microsatellite loci were developed and used to investigate the genetic variation on 35 wild individuals. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 15, with an average of 8.2. The observed and expected heterozygosity values varied from 0.300 to 0.824 (mean 0.559) and 0.261 to 0.779 (mean 0.571), respectively. Only one loci (PN11) deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected. These polymorphic markers should be useful tools for assessing population genetics of P. nattereri, an overfished species in the Amazon varzea lakes that is most appreciated as a food item. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.