WHOLE-GENOME AMPLIFICATION OF MICROSATELLITES REVEALS LIMITED GENETIC VARIATION IN A CAPTIVE COLONY RELATIVE TO THE WILD SOURCE POPULATION OF THE ENDANGERED BEACH MOUSE, PEROMYSCUS POLIONOTUS TRISSYLLEPSIS

• Published in: Florida scientist Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 253 - 258
• Main Authors: Irwin, Jaclyn, Smith, Andrew, Gore, Jeffery A., Greene, Daniel U., Austin, James D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Orlando The Florida Academy of Sciences, Inc 01.10.2012; Florida Academy of Sciences, Inc
• Subjects: Alleles; Beaches; DNA; Genetic diversity; Genetic loci; Genetic variation; Mice; Microsatellite repeats; Microsatellites; Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis; Polymerase chain reaction; Population genetics
• ISSN: 0098-4590

The Perdido Key beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis) is a federally endangered rodent with a highly restricted geographic range. Minimally invasive sampling (tail tips) provides small amounts of starting tissue, which when combined with high levels of inbreeding, requires large genotyping panels in order to resolve patterns of relationships, dispersal, and other phenomena of interest. We screened 74 published Peromyscus spp. loci and demonstrated the utility of whole genome amplification (WGA) to produce repeatable genotypes. Of 74 screened loci, 50 were successfully amplified, and 24 were variable in captive beach mice. Screening of a subset of 23 mono- and polymorphic loci on wild Perdido Key mice revealed that 1) additional variation exists in 11 monomorphic colony loci, and 2) that substantial genetic variation may be missing from the captive colony, relative to the wild, source population. Together these resources should provide valuable genetic information on the repatriation, breeding success and dispersal in Perdido Key beach mouse populations.