Development of microsatellite markers for blunt snout bream Megalobrama amblycephala using 5'-anchored PCR

A rapid method for isolating microsatellite loci in blunt snout bream, based on the 5'-anchored polymerase chain reaction technique, revealed 522 microsatellite loci (consisting of 442 dinucleotide, 4 trinucleotide and 76 tetranucleotide repeats). Of the 25 loci characterized, 10 turned out to be highly polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 17 while the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.4899 to 0.9355 in population of selected strain F(7 ) and from 0.5786 to 0.9556 in wild population from Lake Liangzi. These markers are useful as tools for the detection of genetic variation levels in selected strains and wild populations of blunt snout bream for germplasm conservation.