Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers for Sturnira parvidens and cross-species amplification in Sturnira species.

BACKGROUND: Sturnira is one of the most species-rich genera in the Neotropics, and it is found from Mexico and the Lesser Antilles to Argentina. This genus forms a well-supported monophyletic clade with at least twenty-one recognized species, as well as several others under taxonomic review. Sturnira parvidens is a widespread frugivorous bat of the deciduous forests of the Neotropics, is highly abundant, and is a major component in fruit dispersal to regenerate ecosystems.

METHODS: We used a technique based on Illumina paired-end sequencing of a library highly enriched for microsatellite repeats to develop loci for S. parvidens. We analyzed millions of resulting reads with specialized software to extract those reads that contained di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexanucleotide microsatellites.

RESULTS: We selected and tested 14 polymorphic (di, tri, and tetra) microsatellites. All markers were genotyped on 26 different individuals from distinct locations of the distributional area of S. parvidens. We observed medium-high genetic variation across most loci, but only 12 were functionally polymorphic. Levels of expected heterozygosity across all markers were high to medium (mean HE  = 0.79, mean HO  = 0.72). We examined ascertainment bias in twelve bats of the genus, obtaining null/monomorphic/polymorphic amplifications.

DISCUSSION: The Illumina paired-end sequencing system is capable of identifying massive numbers of microsatellite loci, while expending little time, reducing costs, and providing a large amount of data. The described polymorphic loci for S. parvidens in particular, and for the genus in general, could be suitable for further genetic analysis, including taxonomic inconsistencies, parentage/relatedness analysis, and population genetics assessments.