Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus

Here we developed and optimized 15 polymorphic microsatellites isolated from Cherax quadricarinatus enriched for CA repeats. We tested variability of these microsatellites in 60 unrelated individuals cultured in China. All microsatellite loci were polymorphic. Number of alleles per locus ranged from 2-7 while observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.2549 to 0.8615 and from 0.3405 to 0.8174, respectively. Fourteen of the 15 microsatellites conformed to Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. These microsatellite loci developed here provide an important resource for studying genetic diversity and population structure in redclaw crayfish and potentially in other related species.