Isolation and Characterization of Microsatellite Loci in the Chinese Cobra Naja atra (Elapidae)

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Long-Hui Lin¹  Lu-Xi Mao²  Xia Luo³  Yan-Fu Qu² 

[1] Hangzhou Key Laboratory for Animal Adaptation and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036, Zhejiang, China; E-Mail:;Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, Jiangsu, China; E-Mails:;School of Life Science, Anhui University, Hefei 230039, Anhui, China; E-Mail:

关键词: Naja atra;    Elapidae;    microsatellites;    PCR primers;    polymorphism;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms12074435

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

We characterize thirteen polymorphic microsatellite loci isolated from Naja atra genomic libraries, which were enriched for AC-motif microsatellites. The thirteen loci were screened on a group of 48 individuals from two populations, one in Yong’an and the other in Ganzhou. These markers revealed a relatively high degree of genetic diversity (4–12 alleles per locus) and heterozygosity (Ho ranged from 0.213–0.854 and He ranged from 0.301–0.838). Tests for departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and for linkage disequilibrium were conducted for each of the two populations separately. After sequential Bonferroni correction, none of the 13 loci showed significant departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance indicated that a small but significant (P < 0.001) proportion (16.0%) of the total variation in the microsatellite DNA data were attributable to differences among populations, indicating geographical structuring and restricted gene flow. It could be attributable to the Wuyi mountains in the area having a sufficiently isolating effect to significantly reduce gene flow. Our microsatellite data also showed a low N_m (1.31) value in the two populations from mainland China. Thus, the Yong’an and Ganzhou populations could be treated as distinct evolutionarily significant units (ESUs). The high level of polymorphism revealed by these microsatellite markers will be useful for the study of gene flow, population structure and evolutionary history of N. atra.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.