Twenty-four microsatellite markers for the gray mouse opossum (Tlacuatzin canescens): development from illumina paired-end sequences

Tlacuatzin canescens is an opossum species endemic to Mexico from southern Sonora to Oaxaca, with populations in Tres Marías Islands and in central Peninsula of Yucatan. A technique based on Illumina paired-end sequencing of a library highly enriched for microsatellite repeats was used to develop loci. Twenty-four polymorphic (tri- and tetranucleotide) microsatellites were developed and tested as markers in the target species. All markers were genotyped on 18 different individuals from distinct locations. We observed medium to low genetic variation across most loci (mean number of alleles per locus = 8). Levels of expected heterozygosity across all markers was fairly low (mean HE = 0.477, mean HO = 0.480).