Isolation of twenty low stutter di- and tetranucleotide microsatellites for population analyses of walleye pollock and other gadoids

Fourteen tetra- and six dinucleotide microsatellites, which exhibit minimal stuttering following amplification via PCR were developed from walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma. Most of these loci were isolated from a library enriched for tetranucleotide microsatellites by hybridization of genomic DNA to (gata)₇ oligonucleotides bound to streptavidin-coated paramagnetic beads. The average heterozygosity of these loci is ~80%, and ranges from 53-95%. Mendelian inheritance was confirmed in five families, each consisting of a minimum of 10 or more offspring. Primer sets for all 20 loci were also evaluated in Arctic cod Boreogadus saida, Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus, Pacific tomcod Microgadus proximus, saffron cod Eleginus gracilis, Pacific hake Merluccius productus, Atlantic cod Gadus morhua, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus, blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou, and European hake Merluccius merluccius. In each of these species, 3-19 primer sets amplified variable microsatellite loci. These loci, which exhibit little stutter and moderate to high variability, should be useful population markers in pollock and other gadoid fishes. (C) 2000 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.