Development and characterization of 11 microsatellite loci in a historically introduced carnivoran, the common genet (Genetta genetta)

Abstract

Microsatellite markers were developed to assess population structure and patterns of trans- location in the introduced European common genet (Genetta genetta). Primer pairs were designed for 60 microsatellite sequences enriched for CA, GA, CATC and TAGA repeat motifs. Eleven loci that proved to be polymorphic were genotyped in 33 individuals from southwestern France. The number of alleles per locus and observed heterozygosities varied from three to seven and from 0.2121 to 0.7576, respectively. One locus (B103) showed signif- icant departure from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, probably due to the presence of null alleles. Tests of linkage disequilibrium did not detect significant associations among loci.