Genetic variation at microsatellite loci in sturgeon: primer sequence homology in Acipenser and Scaphirhynchus

Eleven tri-and tetra-meric motif microsatellite loci were identified in a lake sturgeon genomic library and were tested against the six: North American species of Acipenser (lake sturgeon, A. fulvescens; shortnose sturgeon, A. brevirostrum; white sturgeon, A. transmontanus; green sturgeon, A. medirostris; Atlantic sturgeon, A. oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus; gulf sturgeon, A. o. desotoi) and the two species of Scaphirhynchus (pallid sturgeon, S. albus; shovelnose sturgeon, S. platorhynchus) using four to six individuals of each species. Eight loci were amplified equally well in all eight species, and the remaining three loci were amplified in two, four, and seven species, respectively. Of the eight loci that worked in all species, one was monomorphic in all species, while the other seven were polymorphic in three to eight species. Single repeat differences in these tri-and tetra-meric repeat motifs can be readily scored on 4% Metaphor agarose gels stained with ethidium bromide. In addition, dosage for those loci exhibiting four gene doses can also be readily scored with this technique. These loci provide a much needed group of genetic markers, detectable with non-invasive sampling (blood, barbel, or fin), that should work well in threatened and endangered species of sturgeon worldwide.