Characterization of expressed sequence tag (EST)-derived microsatellite loci in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

摘要

The fire ant Solenopsis invicta has received considerable attention as a damaging invasive pest. In the present study, 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed from publicly available expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of S. invicta. The number of alleles varied between 3 and 12, with an average of 6.42 per locus. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.4167 to 1.0000 and from 0.3446 to 0.8543, respectively. These informative EST-derived microsatellite loci provide a powerful complementary tool for genetic studies of S. invicta.