An analysis of eight microsatellite loci in 213 animals was performed to define the genetic structure and variability of 11 East Asian native dog populations. Allele diversity, observed heterozygosities, expected heterozygosities, F-statistics, G(ST) estimates, number of migrants per generation (Nm), and Nei's DA distance were calculated. Expected mean heterozygosities of Asian native dogs varied within a range of 0.310-0.718 with a mean value of 0.580. In a sample of 11 Asian dogs, the highest genetic diversity was exhibited in the Korean native dogs and the lowest in the Shiba, the Japanese native dog. All populations except the Kishu and Akita showed statistically significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at more than one locus. After corrections for multiple significance tests, deviations over all loci were statistically significant in 7 of 11 dog populations, meaning that Asian dogs are genetically subdivided (global F(ST) = 0.154). Despite the locus-specific deviations, statistically significant departures from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium reflect deviations in the direction of heterozygote deficit, the global F(IS) being 0.072. In the neighbor-joining and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) dendrograms based on Nei's DA distance, the Korean native breeds (the Sapsaree and the Jindo) were grouped together, then with the Eskimo dog. The two Japanese native dogs (the Hokkaido and the Akita) also clustered together, with moderate bootstrap support. In spite of some deviation, the three-dimensional scattergram based on principal components supported the conclusions suggested by the dendrograms based on Nei's DA distance. From these two analyses, the Korean native dogs formed the closest groups and then showed a close relationship to the Eskimo dogs, reflecting the fact that the Korean native dogs might be originated from dogs in the northern part of Far East Asia.

ABSTRACT. The slender shiner Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa (Cypriniformes; Cyprinidae; Gobioninae) is an endangered freshwater fish species endemic to Korea. The current strategies for its conservation involve the study of population genetic characters and identification of management units. These strategies require suitable molecular markers to study genetic diversity and genetic structure. Here, we developed nine polymorphic microsatellite markers for P. tenuicorpa for the first time by applying an enrichment method from a size-selected genomic library. The developed microsatellite markers produced a total of 101 alleles (average 11.2). The observed and expected heterozygosities averaged 0.805 and 0.835, respectively. Among the nine identified markers, five markers showed successful amplification across five related Korean Gobioninae species. Thus, the microsatellite markers developed in this study will be useful to establish conservation strategies for both P. tenuicorpa and other related species.