Use of microsatellite polymorphisms for paternity exclusion in rhesus macaques (Macaca multatta)

A total of 224 infant rhesus macaques and their dams and potential sires in 11 multimale groups in 2 different specific pathogen free breeding colonies were screened for up to 6 different microsatellite polymorphism using cross-species PCR amplification. Observed and expected success of paternity exclusion analysis (based on gene frequencies of sires and dams in each colony) were computed by individual locus and cumulatively. Greater or less success of PEA than expected was observed at most loci due to the nonrandom distribution of genotypes between sires and dams and among breeding groups at each colony and because genotypes at different loci did not provide completely independent information about parentage. The combined success of PEA using all loci, however, was slightly greater than predicted both with and without assuming knowledge of one parent's (i.e. the dam's) genotype and was far greater than that based on protein coding loci or DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms.