Abstract
The catadromous Platyeriocheir formosa is a crab endemic in Taiwan. To conserve P. formosa population diversity and ensure the sustainable use of this natural resource, we have developed new genetic markers, 17 polymorphic microsatellite loci, to promote the study of its population genetics in the future. In this study, more than 70 microsatellite sequences were found. Among these, 18 loci were selected to analyze the genetic diversity of P. formosa. With the exception of the Pfo15 locus, all of the remaining loci were polymorphic with allelic numbers ranging from 3–14. Heterozygosity within all 17 polymorphic loci ranged from 0.2–0.95 with an average of 0.55, which suggested that these loci are proper markers for studying population genetics. After we tested cross-specific amplification, eight and six primer sets could be successfully used for the amplification of microsatellite loci in morphologically similar Eriocheir sinensis and E. japonica, respectively; this suggests that they are useful markers for closely related species.
Highlights
Platyeriocheir formosa, the unique species in the genus, is an endemic Taiwanese species of crab which is mainly distributed in rivers of eastern Taiwan [1] and which has a peculiar life history of spawning in the sea and growing up in rivers
The reproductive period of P. formosa is during spring and summer which greatly differs from morphologically similar Eriocheir species that spawn in winter
After passing through five ecdysis cycles, they metamorphose into megalopa that become submersed in an estuary until a second metamorphosis into juvenile crabs occurs [2]
Summary
Platyeriocheir formosa, the unique species in the genus, is an endemic Taiwanese species of crab which is mainly distributed in rivers of eastern Taiwan [1] and which has a peculiar life history of spawning in the sea and growing up in rivers. Xu and Liu developed microsatellite markers for the genetic analysis of the swimming crab, Portunus trituberculatus [11]. Microsatellite loci of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), the largest and most successful commercial and recreational fishery in Chesapeake Bay, USA [12], were cloned from the genome for forensic identification, pedigree analysis, and determination of the population structure [13]. To conserve P. formosa population diversity and ensure the sustainable use of this natural resource, the genetic structure and population dynamics must be determined. We developed new genetic markers, 17 polymorphic microsatellite loci, to promote the study of population genetics in the future
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