Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers from the threatened eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi)

摘要

The eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) is the longest snake in North America. Population declines due to extensive loss of habitat led to federal listing as a threatened species in 1978. Knowledge deficiencies regarding the biology of the eastern indigo snake, including population connectivity and gene flow, are impediments to the development of effective conservation and restoration strategies. We describe primers and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) conditions to amplify 22 tetranucleotide and pentanucleotide nuclear microsatellite loci isolated from the eastern indigo snake. We tested primers using 28 shed skins representing 24 individuals from Fort Stewart, Georgia. Primers yielded an average of 4.6 alleles per locus (range 3-7) and an average observed heterozygosity of 0.63 (range 0.46-0.79). These loci should prove useful for individual identification as well as population level analyses of this federally threatened species.