Polymorphic microsatellite markers in the false kelpfish Sebastiscus marmoratus: isolation, characterization, and cross-species amplification.

A (GT/CA)13-microsatellite-enriched genomic library of the false kelpfish Sebastiscus marmoratus was constructed, and 20 polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized. The polymorphisms were investigated in 48 wild individuals from a single population collected from the northern Yellow Sea. The numbers of alleles per locus varied from 4-22 with an average of 9. The observed and expected heterozygosities of each locus ranged from 0.196-0.958 and from 0.487-0.942, with an average of 0.693 and 0.765, respectively. One locus significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and one pair of loci was in linkage disequilibrium determined by Bonferroni's correction. Cross-species amplification was also conducted in the related species Inimicus japonicus, collected from East China Sea. The result showed that six loci could be amplified from I. japonicus DNAs. These polymorphic markers would be useful for assessment of genetic variation and population structure of scorpionfish.