Characterization of 18 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the red‐crowned crane (Grus japonensis), an endangered bird

Abstract

Red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis) were classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but recently, their population has decreased dramatically. For the purpose of conserving this endangered species, 18 microsatellite markers were developed, including 12 newly isolated ones from a genomic library and 6 modified from another crane species. The markers were characterized in 26 red-crowned cranes. As a result, these markers displayed 3-13 alleles, and the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.462 to 1.000 and from 0.483 to 0.884, respectively. The marker suite averaged 6.390 alleles per locus with an average polymorphic information content of 0.631. The combined exclusion probability (PE-1) was 0.9985, and the combined exclusion probability (PE-2) was 0.9999. Three of the 18 microsatellite loci presented significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (P < 0.05), likely due to sampling bias and unknown founder relatedness in a semi-free population. Our results show that microsatellite loci can provide a standard protocol for genetic information in red-crowned crane populations upon which strategies for effective conservation and management may be based.

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from the Chinese white wax scale Ericerus pela Chavannes (Homopetera: Coccidae)

“…Perhaps no genetic linkage between these loci, homozygote and heterozygote were kept in the greenhouse) and unknown founder relatedness in the semi-free population. We compared the results of E. pela to other species (Vuuren, 2006;Miao et al, 2008;Lavandero and Dominguez, 2010;Zou et al, 2010), such as Platyscapa awekei (common deviation from HWE due to inbreeding), Eriosoma lanigerum (small proportion of loci deviating from HWE due to null alleles), Grus japonensis (sampling bias and unknown founder relatedness) and Taxus yunnanensis (most loci significantly deviated from HWE due to a large heterozygote deficiency). Expected heterozygosity (HE) of the eight loci range from 0.7872 to 0.9087.…”

Identification and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the red-crowned crane

“…No successful paternity identification of red-crowned cranes has been reported to date because of the previously discussed deficiencies of the microsatellite loci (Hasegawa et al, 2000;Zou et al, 2010).…”

“…The Hiseq2000 Genome Sequencer platform (Illumina, USA) is one of the tools associated with the new wave of sequencing technologies, and its shotgun genome sequencing approach has been demonstrated to be very useful when dealing with short tandem repeat (STR) analyses. To date, 19 microsatellite loci of red-crowned cranes have been reported (Hasegawa et al, 2000;Zou et al, 2010). To increase the number of loci available for microsatellite analyses, Zou et al (2010) also tried to use six loci from blue cranes (Anthropoides paradiseus) to genotype red-crowned cranes.…”

“…To date, 19 microsatellite loci of red-crowned cranes have been reported (Hasegawa et al, 2000;Zou et al, 2010). To increase the number of loci available for microsatellite analyses, Zou et al (2010) also tried to use six loci from blue cranes (Anthropoides paradiseus) to genotype red-crowned cranes. The authors found that the markers were characterized in their study population (N = 26) of red-crowned cranes; however, no parental identification analysis was reported.…”

The Present Status of Available Genetic Information for Avian Species Distributing in Japan and on the List of “Nationally Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”

“…Of the endangered bird species, genetic diversity has been estimated using microsatellite markers in the Japanese Crested Ibis (Urano et al, 2013;Tsubono et al, 2014), Japanese Crane (Hasegawa et al, 2000;Zou et al, 2010), Blakiston's Fish Owl (Omote et al, 2012), Golden Eagle (Dawnay et al, 2009), Common Murre (Ibarguchi et al, 2000;MorrisPocock et al, 2008), White-tailed Eagle (Molecular Ecology Resources Primer Development Consortium, 2012), Japanese wood pigeon (Ando et al, 2011), and the Ptarmigan (Bech et al, 2013). However, among these, research focusing on Japanese populations was conducted for only Onuma: Genetic Information of Nationally Endangered Species four species: Japanese Crested Ibis, Japanese Crane, Blakiston's Fish Owl, and the Japanese Wood Pigeon.…”