Ten polymorphic microsatellite loci developed from Triplophysa anterodorsalis

Abstract

Triplophysa anterodorsalis is a genus Triplophysa (Rendahl) fish which belongs to the family Balitoridae, subfamily Nemacheilinae. There are 112 nominal species in the genus Triplophysa all over the world, and ∼60% of species are found in China (Chen and Yang 2005; Froese R. and Pauly D. 2008 FishBase: www.fishbase.org, ver. (06/2008)). T. anterodorsalis is an endemic fish, distributed in upper reaches of the Yangtze river, Jinsha river and its tributaries (Ding 1994). But, since 2002, four cascade hydropower stations were under construction in the lower reaches of Jinsha river (Chen et al. 2005). Fragmentation caused by these dams might disrupt the connectivity of hydro-ecosystem and the gene flow between local fish populations (Fu et al. 2003; Jiang et al. 2007; Huang et al. 2011). Due to human activities, such as overfishing, dam construction, water contamination and habitat alteration, wild fisheries of this species have declined dramatically, and the distribution ranges have been shrinking rapidly in the last decades (Gao et al. 2011). In the long run, a good understanding of the genetic diversity, population structure and differentiation of T. anterodorsalis is required in order to establish adequate management plans for the conservation of this species. While the need for restoration of T. anterodorsalis, has been recognized, a eight-year management project based on population genetics has been initiated to define the efficiency of these conservation measures since 2011 (Yu and Chen 2011). In the present study, we isolated and characterized 10 microsatellites from T. anterodorsalis. These markers will be a useful tool for studies of population demographic history, genetic structure and conservation purposes in this species.