Development and characterization of thirty novel microsatellite markers for the critically endangered Myanmar Roofed Turtle, Batagur trivittata, and cross-amplification in the Painted River Terrapin, B. borneoensis, and the Southern River Terrapin, B. affinis, using paired-end Illumina shotgun sequencing

Abstract

We isolated and characterized 30 microsatellite loci from the critically endangered Myanmar Roofed Turtle, Batagur trivittata. Loci were screened in 9 B. trivittata samples and in the congeners the Painted River Terrapin, Batagur borneoensis, with 22 of 30 amplifying, and the Southern River Terrapin, B. affinis, with 15 of 30 amplifying. In the B. trivittata samples, the number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 10 and the probability of identity values ranged from 0.031 to 0.354. These new loci will provide tools for captive management and reintroduction programs for B. trivittata and the other five species of Batagur, particularly B. affinis in Cambodia.