Characterization of STR/microsatellite primers for the Gila monster, Heloderma suspectum screened from paired-end Illumina shotgun sequencing

Abstract

We used Illumina paired-end shotgun sequencing to characterize microsatellite loci in Heloderma suspectum. We identified over 124,000 potentially amplifiable loci and describe PCR primers for 18 variable tri- and tetra-nucleotide STRs. The observed number of alleles per locus ranged from 5 to 16 and heterozygosity varied from 0.64 to 0.92. In addition 13 of these loci cross-amplified in the beaded lizard, Heloderma horridum. This method of microsatellite identification proved extremely efficient and cost effective. This novel marker set can be used by researchers to better understand these elusive species.