(A. Weig, DNA-Analytik)

Microsatellites

Microsatellite analyses (also known as: simple sequence repeats, SSR, or short tandem repeates, STR) use the length variability of short (2-6 bp) sequence repeats to investigate kinship and population structure of selected species. Since specific microsatellite primers are required for the amplification of microsatellite fragments, this technique is dependent on species-specific sequence information surrounding the microsatellite loci.

Species-specific microsatellites can be developed de-novo by a variety of methods, including next-generation sequencing technologies. In addition, existing microsatellite analysis protocols have been successfully applied to closely related taxa.

Recommended Literature

• Kelkar YD, Strubczewski N, Hile SE et al. (2010) What Is a Microsatellite: A Computational and Experimental Definition Based upon Repeat Mutational Behavior at A/T and GT/AC Repeats. Genome Biology and Evolution 2(0): 620–635. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evq046
• Gardner MG, Fitch AJ, Bertozzi T et al. (2011) Rise of the machines - recommendations for ecologists when using next generation sequencing for microsatellite development. Molecular Ecology Resources 11(6): 1093–1101. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2011.03037.x