SREL Reprint #3320

Development of microsatellite markers for globally distributed populations of the threatened silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis

J. R. O’Bryhim1,2, J. Spaet3, J. R. Hyde4, K. L. Jones5, D. H. Adams6, and S. L. Lance1

1Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC 29802, USA
2Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
3Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
4Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service,
8901 La Jolla Shores Dr., La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
5Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University
of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
6Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
Melbourne, FL 32901, USA

Abstract: Eighteen microsatellite loci were developed for the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis and screened across a total of 53 individuals from the western Atlantic Ocean, Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, and Red Sea. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 19, observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.158 to 0.917, and the probability of identity values ranged from 0.010 to 0.460. Though believed to be one of the most abundant species of large sharks, C. falciformis were recently listed as ‘‘near threatened’’ globally and ‘‘vulnerable’’ in the Eastern Tropical Pacific by the IUCN, due to reductions in catch rates from both target and non-target fisheries (Dulvy et al. in Aquat Conserv 18:459–482, 2008). Very little information exists about the population structure and genetic diversity of C. falciformis around the world. These new loci will provide effective tools for examining the sustainability of this declining species.

Keywords: Carcharhinus falciformis, Illumina, Microsatellite, PAL_FINDER, PCR primers, SSR

SREL Reprint #3320

O'Bryhim, J. R., J. Spaet, J. R. Hyde, K. L. Jones, D. H. Adams, and S. L. Lance. 2015. Development of microsatellite markers for globally distributed populations of the threatened silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis. Conservation Genetics Resources 7(2): 463-465.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).