Characterization and pilot application of 14 microsatellite loci from the Korean shiner (Coreoleuciscus splendidus)

The Korean shiner (Coreoleuciscus splendidus, Gobioninae), a small freshwater fish native to Korea Peninsula, widely inhabits in most of the major drainages in South Korea. Here we describe the development of 14 novel and polymorphic microsatellites for this species and its effective utilization in estimation of genetic diversity using 72 individuals from three sampling sites in different drainages. Loci were isolated from a microsatellite enrichment procedure using probe-labeled magnetic beads. A total of 242 alleles were detected across all loci with an average of 17.3 alleles per locus ranging 4-32. The loci varied levels of polymorphism as evident from its expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.111 to 0.957. The average pairwise F_ST between two populations examined shows significant differentiation (F_ST=0.215, p < 0.05). The 14 microsatellite loci developed here will also be useful to explain for the genetic structures among geographically isolated populations and gene flow dynamics within drainages in this species as well as the closely related species.