Isolation and characterisation of novel polymorphic microsatellite loci in Iberian painted frogs (Discoglossus galganoi and D. jeanneae), with data on cross-species amplification in Discoglossus and Latonia (Alytidae)

Abstract

Mediterranean painted frogs (genus Discoglossus Otth, 1837) are distributed across western Europe, North Africa and some Mediterranean islands. Previous studies have focused on their phylogenetic relationships, but the taxonomic position of the Iberian taxa (D. galganoi and D. jeanneae) is still under debate. By using microsatellites, patterns and rates of admixture can be quantified. We report the characterisation of eighteen novel polymorphic microsatellite loci in Iberian painted frogs. These loci were also tested in all other species of Discoglossus and in the recently rediscovered and highly endangered relative Latonia nigriventer. Two to eleven loci amplified in these species, and the number of polymorphic loci ranged from zero (in Latonia) to eight (in D. scovazzi). The new markers will be useful in addressing questions related to the evolutionary history, population structure, and conservation of Iberian Discoglossus. They also have potential for use in the North African species D. scovazzi and D. pictus, the latter of which is an invasive species rapidly expanding its range in southeast France and northeast Spain.