Characterization of blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus microsatellite loci, and assessment of sequence homology among species
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TECHNICAL NOTE
Characterization of blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus microsatellite loci, and assessment of sequence homology among species to predict cross-species utility and chromosome locations Jennifer A. Smith • Deborah A. Dawson • Gavin J. Horsburgh • S. James Reynolds
Received: 2 January 2012 / Accepted: 8 February 2012 / Published online: 26 February 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
Abstract We isolated 54 unique loci from a microsatelliteenriched blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) genomic library. Thirty-eight loci were tested for polymorphism in four unrelated blue tits from a population in Chaddesley Woods National Nature Reserve, Worcestershire, UK. This identified 23 scorable polymorphic loci that were then characterized in 29 unrelated individuals from the same population. We assigned the location of the orthologue of each blue tit sequence in the assembled zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) and chicken (Gallus gallus) genomes. The polymorphic loci were all predicted to be autosomal and this was confirmed by the presence of heterozygotes in a proportion of both the male and female individuals. The sequences of five loci (Pca14, Pca23, Pca27, Pca30 and Pca32) displayed high sequence homology to the genetically distant chicken and are therefore expected to amplify in the widest range of species, including those of conservation concern. Design of primer sequences which are a consensus between species would enhance crossspecies utility further.
J. A. Smith D. A. Dawson (&) G. J. Horsburgh NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK e-mail: [email protected] J. A. Smith S. J. Reynolds Centre for Ornithology, School of Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK Present Address: J. A. Smith Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Keywords AVES Genome locations Paridae Parus caeruleus Passerine Songbird STR
The blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is a common passerine bird that breeds in deciduous woodlands and gardens across much of the Western Palearctic (Gosler and Clement 2007). This species belongs to the Paridae family which comprises 64 species (Sibley and Monroe 1990). Some species of this family are near-threatened (NT) or vulnerable (V), mainly due to habitat loss and fragmentation (NT: palawan tit—Parus amabilis, white-fronted tit—Parus semilarvatus, yellow tit—Parus holsti; V: white-naped tit—Parus nuchalis; IUCN Red List, Birdlife International). We describe the isolation and characterization of blue tit microsatellite loci. A proportion of the loci isolated are expected to be of utility in species of Paridae and other passerines (including species of conservation concern) without any further development (Primmer et al. 1996). Putative genomic locations were assigned for each microsatellite sequence by identifying
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