First microsatellite markers for the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) and their application in analysis of parentage and genetic diversity

Aleksandra Gwiazdowska,Hanna Panagiotopoulou,Katarzyna Kamionka-Kanclerska,Robert Rutkowski,Jan J Pomorski,Oliwia Karpińska,Luis F P Da Silva,Patryk Rowiński,Richard K Broughton

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-98364-3

Abstract

The European Robin is a small passerine bird associated with woodlands of Eurasia and North Africa. Despite being relatively widespread and common, little is known of the species’ breeding biology and genetic diversity. We used Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to develop and characterize microsatellite markers for the European Robin, designing three multiplex panels to amplify 14 microsatellite loci. The level of polymorphism and its value for assessing parentage and genetic structure was estimated based on 119 individuals, including seven full families and 69 unrelated individuals form Poland’s Białowieża Primaeval Forest and an additional location in Portugal. All markers appeared to be highly variable. Analysis at the family level confirmed a Mendelian manner of inheritance in the investigated loci. Genetic data also revealed evidence for extra-pair paternity in one family. The set of markers that we developed are proven to be valuable for analysis of the breeding biology and population genetics of the European Robin.

Highlights

The European Robin is a small passerine bird associated with woodlands of Eurasia and North Africa
Most of the available fragmentary data on the breeding biology of European Robins in Britain comes from highly transformed environments, such as gardens and secondary w oodlands[4]
The PacBio RSII sequencing enabled microsatellite markers for European Robins to be discovered in a sufficient number, and the restricted selection using narrow criteria enhanced the possibility of choosing high quality markers for population analysis

Summary

Introduction

The European Robin is a small passerine bird associated with woodlands of Eurasia and North Africa. The European Robin Erithacus rubecula, a small (c.19 g) passerine bird, is a common and widespread species of wooded habitats in Europe, parts of western Asia and North Africa[1] It is a familiar and moderately well-known species in Western Europe, there is little information about the species’ breeding biology across much of its range, and studies of its population genetics are mostly lacking[2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9].

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