Development of polysomic microsatellite markers for characterization of population structuring and phylogeography in the shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)

Shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum is an endangered polyploid fish species for which no nuclear DNA markers previously existed. To address this need, 86 polysomic loci were developed and characterized in 20 A. brevirostrum from five river systems and eight members (parents and six progeny) of a captive-bred family. All markers proved to be polymorphic, polysomic, and demonstrated direct inheritance when tested in a captive family. Eleven loci were included in a range-wide survey of 561 fish sampled from 17 geographic collections. Allelic diversity at these markers ranged from 7 to 24 alleles/locus and averaged 16.5 alleles/locus; sufficient diversity to produce unique multilocus genotypes. In the range-wide survey, a Mantel comparison of an ecological (1-Jaccard’s) and genetic (Φ_PT; an analog to F_ST) distance metrics, identified a strong positive correlation (r = 0.98, P < 0.0001); suggesting Φ_PT represents a viable metric for assessing genetic relatedness using this class of marker.