Dear colleagues,
On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce the publication of
the following article in Molecular Biology Reports.
Tardy, C., Planes, S., Jung, J. L., Ody, D., & Boissin, E. (2020).
Characterization of 25 new microsatellite markers for the fin whale
(Balaenoptera physalus) and cross-species amplification in other
cetaceans. Molecular Biology Reports, 1-14.
PDF requests can be sent to [email protected]
Abstract
Cetaceans are large mammals widely distributed on Earth. The fin whale,
Balaenoptera physalus, is the second largest living animal. In the 20th
century, commercial whaling reduced its global population by 70%, and in
the Mediterranean Sea not only was their overall population depleted but
the migration between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean was
reduced. Previous genetic studies identified isolation between these two
regions, with a limited gene-flow between these adjacent populations
based on nuclear and mitochondrial markers. However, only limited
information exists for the Mediterranean population as genetic diversity
and abundance trends are still unknown. In this study, 39 highly
polymorphic microsatellite markers were tested, including 25 markers
developed de novo together with 14 markers previously published. An
average allelic diversity of 8.3 alleles per locus was reported, ranging
from 3 to 15 alleles per locus, for B. physalus. Expected heterozygosity
was variable among loci and ranged from 0.34 to 0.91. Only two markers
in the new set were significantly deviant from the Hardy Weinberg
equilibrium. Cross-species amplification was tested in four other
cetacean species. A total of 27 markers were successfully amplified in
the four species (Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Megaptera novaeangliae,
Physeter macrocephalus and Globicephala melas). A multivariate analysis
on the multilocus genotypes successfully discriminated the five species.
This new set of microsatellite markers will not only provide a useful
tool to identify and understand the genetic diversity and the evolution
of the B. physalus population, but it will also be relevant for other
cetacean species, and will allow further parentage analyses. Eventually,
this new set of microsatellite markers will provide critical data that
will shed light on important biological data within a conservation
perspective.
Best wishes,
Céline
--
Céline Tardy
PhD student
WWF France - Bureau Marseille
6 rue des Fabres 13001 Marseille
Portable : +33 6 50 50 03 60
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