Abstract
Microsatellites, also termed as simple sequence repeats, are repetitive tracts in a DNA sequence, typically consisting of one to six nucleotides. These repeats are found in all genomes and play key roles in phylogeny and species identification. Microsatellites are highly polymorphic, and their length may differ from species to species. There are several online resources dedicated to mitochondria; however, comprehensive information is not available about the length variation of mitochondrial microsatellites. Therefore, to explore it between species among a genus, we have developed a database named pSATdb (polymorphic microSATellites database; https://lms.snu.edu.in/pSATdb/). pSATdb contains 28,710 perfect microsatellites identified across 5,976 mitochondrial genome (mt-genome) sequences from 1,576 genera which includes 1,535 (5,846 mt-genome) and 41 (130 mt-genome) genera of Metazoa and Viridiplantae, respectively. pSATdb is the only database which provides genus-wise information about the length variation of mitochondrial microsatellites. Because of the emerging role of microsatellites in genomics studies, the identified common, polymorphic, and unique microsatellites stored in pSATdb will be effectively useful in various studies including genetic diversity, mapping, marker-assisted selection, and comparative population studies.
Highlights
Mitochondria, often referred to as the “powerhouses of the cell,” are an essential cellular organelle found in eukaryotes
Repeats without interruption are known as perfect microsatellites (e.g., AAAAAAAA), whereas imperfect microsatellites are interrupted by non-repeat nucleotides (e.g., AAAATAAAA)
The pSATdb contains genus-wise information on 28,710 perfect microsatellites identified from 5,976 mitochondrial genomes of 1,576 genera which include 1,535 (5,846 mt-genome) and 41 (130 mt-genome) genera of Metazoa and Viridiplantae, respectively
Summary
Mitochondria, often referred to as the “powerhouses of the cell,” are an essential cellular organelle found in eukaryotes. Two or more microsatellites found adjacent to each other or separated by few nucleotides are called compound microsatellites (e.g., AAAAAAAATTTTTTTT; Bachmann et al, 2004) These repeats are found in coding, non-coding, and coding–non-coding regions of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes (Shanker et al, 2007a, 2007b; Kapil et al, 2014; Kabra et al, 2016; Kumar & Shanker, 2018a). These repeats have been reported in organellar genome including mitochondria (Kumar et al, 2014, 2020; Kumar & Shanker, 2020a)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
