Isolation And Characterization Of Tetranucleotide Microsatellites From The Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea)

The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is a globally endangered marine species. Numerous questions regarding life history and demographics that are of conservation interest remain and many of these can be addressed through the use of highly polymorphic nuclear markers. We describe primers and polymerase chain reaction conditions to amplify 19 tetranucleotide microsatellite loci from the leatherback turtle. The primers were tested on samples from 22 females that nested at Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, Melbourne Beach, Florida, USA. The primers developed in this study yielded an average of 9.4 alleles per locus (range of 5-19) and an average observed heterozygosity of 0.84 (range 0.36-1.00). These markers should prove useful in supplementing existing markers for individual and population level analyses. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011