Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers in white-tailed deer

Abstract

A genomic library was constructed from whitetail deer DNA and screened for the presence of dinucleotide repeats. Fourteen DNA microsatellites were isolated and sequenced; seven sets of PCR primers were designed from the regions of DNA flanking the repeat. of these seven loci, five amplified well and exhibited polymorphism in animals from a pedigreed herd of whitetail deer. All five markers show codominant Mendelian inheritance in the pedigreed families. Heterozygositites, allele frequencies, and PIC values were calculated; percent heterozygosity averaged 62% over all five loci, while PIC values ranged between .6844-.8386. Two of the markers were mapped to bovine syntenic groups using a panel of hamster/cattle somatic cell hybrids; subsequently, they were assigned to independent deer chromosomes. Each marker amplified polymorphic DNA fragments in related artiodactyls (mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and red deer). Applications of microsatellite markers in the fields of population genetics, conservation biology, and wildlife management are discussed, as well as potential difficulties associated with these markers.