Characterization of eight polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers for the greenside darter, Etheostoma blennioides (Percidae)

Abstract

The greenside darter, Etheostoma blennioides is a small benthic fish found in fast-flowing streams in eastern North America. In Canada, this species is native to three, and introduced into one, Great Lakes tributaries in southwestern Ontario. It is currently listed as a species of Special Concern. To characterize population genetic structure and diversity in the Canadian populations of greenside darter, eight polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed for the species. The polymerase chain reaction primers were tested between 32 and 60 individuals from the Sydenham River and yielded a high number of alleles (four to 42 per locus), and observed heterozygosities ranging from 0.14 to 0.82