Development of eighteen tetranucleotide microsatellite markers in Tibetan Macaque (Macaca thibetana) and genetic diversity analysis of captive population

In this study, eighteen tetranucleotide microsatellite loci were isolated from AAAG-enriched and GATA-enriched libraries of the Tibetan macaque, Macaca thibetana. These loci were tested on 53 individuals of M. thibetana, and most loci were proved to be highly polymorphic. A total of 109 alleles were detected with an average of 6.06 alleles per locus. The PIC values of these loci ranged from 0.192 to 0.879, with an average of 0.624. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.170 to 0.800 and from 0.217 to 0.898, with an average of 0.583 and 0.675, respectively. 5 loci significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Significant linkage disequilibrium (LD) was found between 9 pairs of loci. The newly identified polymorphic markers would facilitate the study of M. thibetana on the population structure and genetic diversity.