Ten polymorphic microsatellite markers for pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)

We screened enriched genomic libraries of the North American endemic pronghorn, Antilocapra americana, using di-, tri- and tetranucleotide repeat probes. We characterized ten polymorphic microsatellite loci for 45 individuals from the National Bison Range (NBR), Montana, and 47 individuals from Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Montana and Wyoming. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to 12. Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.33 to 0.94. No loci deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in the NBR population, but one locus deviated from HWE in the YNP population. Linkage disequilibrium was detected in one pair of loci in the NBR population and one pair in the YNP population following a Bonferroni correction. We tested all loci for cross-species amplification in the Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa). Four loci successfully amplified and three were polymorphic, suggesting that these primers may be of use in population genetics studies of Bovids as well as Antilocaprids.