Development and characterization of 17 microsatellite markers for Chinese soft-shelled turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis

Abstract

A set of 17 polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized for the Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) using a next generation sequencing approach. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 11. The observed, expected heterozygosities and polymorphic information content per locus varied from 0.103 to 0.750, 0.222 to 0.883 and 0.158 to 0.788, respectively. Significant linkage disequilibrium and deviations from the Hardy–Weinberg disequilibrium between two pairs of loci were found. These loci will be beneficial for the population genetic structure investigation and marker assisted breeding for P. sinensis.