Validation of Microsatellite Markers for Lutjanus russellii Species Complex

Abstract

Lutjanus russellii serves as an important food fish resource for artisanal coral reef fisheries throughout the Indo-Pacific region. The species has been recognized for 2 color morphs between the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Based on the high degree of nucleotide differences in Cytochrome oxidase I , these 2 morphs were recently suggested to be 2 different species; L. russellii and L. indicus , respectively. Here, a cross-species amplification using 6 microsatellite markers, previously developed for L. carponotatus , and validity tests of 19 microsatellite markers, previously developed for L. russellii in Zhanjiang Harbor, South China Sea, were performed on L. russellii and L. indicus sampled from the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. The study showed a successful cross-species amplification in 4 L. carponotatus microsatellite loci, whereas 5 of the 19 loci previously developed for L. russellii from Zhanjiang Harboren countered amplification failure. Of the 18 loci with amplification success, 16 were found to be polymorphic ( Na = 4 - 27; He = 0.195 - 0.965), each of which contained private alleles in each species complex ranging from 0 -13, and R ST ranging from -0.003 - 0.543.This study evaluated microsatellite markers useful for the investigation of population genetic structures, reef recruitment patterns, and species hybridization of the 2 sister species around the Indo-Pacific Oceans boundary. The results also suggested the existence of local specific polymorphisms, as well as genetic distinctiveness, among these species complex.