Microsatellite markers for mating system and population analyses of the spectacled caiman Caiman crocodilus (Linnaeus 1758)

Abstract

We used a microsatellite enriched library to isolate and characterize 12 di-nucleotide microsatellite loci of Caiman crocodilus. Microsatellites were characterized in populations of C. c. crocodilus from Piagacu-Purus, Amazonas, Brazil and C. c. yacare from Caceres, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Results of characterization were comparable between the two subspecies, with number of alleles varying from three to 20 and one to 14 per locus in C. c. crocodilus and C. c. yacare, respectively. Observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.088 to 0.816 and 0.115 to 0.833, respectively. Joint paternity exclusion (QC) was >0.999 in both subspecies, and probability of genetic identity varied from 4.631 × 10−13 in C. c. crocodilus to 2.233 × 10−8 in C. c. yacare. All loci are unlinked, and with the exception of three loci in C. c. crocodilus all loci were at Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The characteristics of these loci makes them an excellent tool set for the study of mating systems, and fine-scaled population structuring in the Caiman crocodilus species complex.