The use of microsatellite markers in Neotropical studies of wild birds: a literature review.

RENAN F. MOURA,DENISE M. NOGUEIRA,DEBORAH A. DAWSON

doi:10.1590/0001-3765201620160378

Abstract

Despite extensive habitat fragmentation, the Neotropical region possesses 30% of the world´s bird species. Microsatellites have remained one of the most popular genetic markers and have been used in ecological and conservation studies since the 1990's. We conducted a literature review comparing the number of papers published from January 1990 to July 2015 that used microsatellite markers for studies of wild birds in the Neotropical region, USA and some European countries. We assigned the articles to three categories of studies: population genetics, animal behavior/kinship analysis and the development of species-specific bird microsatellite markers. We also compared the studies in the Neotropics that used heterologous versus species-specific markers and provide a list of heterologous markers of utility in multiple birds. Despite the rich bird fauna in the Neotropics, the number of articles published represents only 5.6% of that published by the USA and selected European countries. Within the Neotropical region, Brazil possessed 60.5% of the total papers published, with the remaining 39.5% shared between five countries. We conclude that the lack of specialized laboratories and resources still represents a limit to microsatellite-based genetic studies of birds within the Neotropical region. To overcome these limitations, we suggest the use of heterologous microsatellite markers as a cost-effective and time-effective tool to assist ecological studies of wild birds.

Highlights

Microsatellites, referred to as simple sequence repeats (SSRs), are characterized by short tandem repeats (STRs) of 1 to 6 nucleotide motifs widely spread in a random nature throughout the eukaryotic genome (Weber and May 1989, Weber 1990, Katti et al 2001, Dakin and Avise 2004, Ellegren 2004).Mutations in microsatellite repeat regions are frequent (Goldstein and Schlötterer 1999) and the loci present in vertebrates, invertebrates and plants are highly variable and characterized by high heterozygosity due to the presence of multiple alleles (Barbará et al 2007, Tang et al 2008)
Regarding the use of heterologous microsatellite markers for the study of birds by principal investigators (PIs) based in the Neotropical region, we found 14 papers, most of them published between the years 2000 and 2015
Our results showed a great disparity regarding the number of papers published by PIs based in the Neotropical region involving bird microsatellite markers against the number published by PIs based in Europe and the United States of America (USA) between January 1990 and July 2015

Summary

Introduction

Microsatellites, referred to as simple sequence repeats (SSRs), are characterized by short tandem repeats (STRs) of 1 to 6 nucleotide motifs widely spread in a random nature throughout the eukaryotic genome (Weber and May 1989, Weber 1990, Katti et al 2001, Dakin and Avise 2004, Ellegren 2004).Mutations in microsatellite repeat regions are frequent (Goldstein and Schlötterer 1999) and the loci present in vertebrates, invertebrates and plants are highly variable and characterized by high heterozygosity due to the presence of multiple alleles (Barbará et al 2007, Tang et al 2008). NOGUEIRA the fact, that, generally, these markers are located in non-coding regions where mutations possibly do not interfere in the individual’s fitness, allows multiple different alleles to persist in the genome, and be transmitted to future generations (Ellegren 2004). These factors contributed to the exponential increase in the use of these markers during the 1990s and 2000s, and nowadays, they are the most popular choice for studies of population structure, kinship analysis and individual identification (Selkoe and Toonen 2006)

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