Development of fourteen novel microsatellite markers of Crocodylus palustris, the Indian mugger, and their cross-species transferability in ten other crocodilians

Crocodylus palustris (Indian mugger) is an endangered species with declining populations due to illegal hunting and habitat destruction. The situation warrants conservation efforts for which understanding the genetic structure of the extant populations becomes important. Here, we describe 14 new mugger-specific microsateillte markers (Simple Sequence Repeats, SSRs), developed from SSR-enriched partial genomic DNA library and ESTs. All markers were validated using 48 population samples. In general, markers were highly polymorphic; amplified 2-12 alleles/marker with H (e) and H (o) ranging from 0.23-0.91 and 0.25-1.0, respectively. Notably, all markers except CpSSR10, also exhibited near 100 % cross-species transferability when tested on similar to 30 samples belonging to ten related crocodilians. These microsatellite markers are thus expected to be highly useful for the population genetics and other conservation studies on Indian mugger and other crocodilians.