Isolation and characterization of fourteen polymorphic microsatellite markers in the viperine snake Natrix maura

Abstract

Nineteen polymorphic microsatellite loci were identified and developed for Natrix maura. Polymorphism was assessed for 120 individuals sampled across four sampling sites from the French Pyrenees Mountains. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 15, and expected heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.227 to 0.863. We tested for deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and linkage disequilibrium and assessed the presence of null alleles for all loci, resulting in a selection of 14 high‐quality polymorphic markers. These markers will be extremely useful in identifying fine‐scale genetic structures and providing insight into conservation management plans of this species.

Impact of Repetitive DNA Elements on Snake Genome Biology and Evolution

“…This is evident from the repeatomic density analysis (number of loci/Mbp) of microsatellites, with differences ranging from 10.9- to 16.6-fold, with primitive snakes presenting the lowest, and advanced snakes presenting the highest density of these repeats. Extreme variability of microsatellite genomic contents in snakes has set a new benchmark, exceeding the high diversity of these repeats previously recorded in fish genomes [ 145 , 146 ]. By contrast, mammalian and avian genomes tend to possess the lowest variation in microsatellite density (1.8-fold loci/Mbp and 2.8 bp/M).…”