Characterization of eight microsatellite loci for the sea urchin Meoma ventricosa (Spatangoida, Brissidae) through Next Generation Sequencing

• 8 new microsatellite loci were isolated in the sea urchin Meoma ventricosa.
• The moderately high level of polymorphism of these loci was estimated from a sample of 29 individuals of M. ventricosa.
• The characterization of these markers permits subsequent population genetic studies.

Eight microsatellite loci were characterized for Meoma ventricosa (Lamarck, 1816), a burrowing sea urchin that can be afflicted by a bacterial disease causing localized mass mortality. For the analyzed population (29 individuals from St. Croix, US Virgin Islands), we observed 8.125 mean number of alleles, 0.640 mean observed heterozygosity (Ho) and 0.747 mean expected heterozygosity (He). Two loci showed significant deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Overall, the described loci were characterized by a moderately high level of polymorphism suggesting that these markers are useful for a population genetic study in the Caribbean Sea.