Microsatellite markers for genetic studies in the weasel (Mustela nivalis)

This study reports the first set of microsatellite markers for the weasel (Mustela nivalis). We chose to isolate loci with tetranucleotide repeat motifs because they can be scored less ambiguously than the more commonly used dinucleotide loci. All 11 loci showed considerable variation within a population sample of 28 individuals from Portugal, with number of alleles ranging from four to nine per locus and observed and expected heterozygosities ranging from 0.21 to 0.86 and from 0.40 to 0.84, respectively. No linkage disequilibrium was detected between pairs of loci, and only one locus (Mn 1.30) deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium expectations in the analyzed population sample. Among the 11 loci, Mn 1.30 was the only one for which all known males were homozygous. Analysis of an additional population sample of 23 individuals (14 males and 9 females) from Denmark revealed that all males, but only four females, were homozygous for Mn 1.30, supporting the idea that the locus is X-linked. These novel polymorphic microsatellite markers should be useful in studies of population genetics and molecular ecology of the weasel.