Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers in Calomys musculinus (Muridae, Sigmodontinae, Phyllotini), the natural reservoir of Junin virus

MARINA B. CHIAPPERO; CRISTINA N. GARDENAL; GRACIELA M. PANZETTA-DUTARI

Molecular Ecology Notes

Blackwell

Año: 2005 vol. 5 p. 593 - 595

1471-8278

Calomys musculinus, one of the most abundant rodent species in central Argentina, is the reservoir of Junin virus, the ethiological agent of Argentine Hemorrhagic Fever. We isolated six polymorphic microsatellite loci for microgeographic studies of population structure in this species. Amplification of these loci in 36 individuals from 3 natural populations revealed 5 to 14 alleles per locus and expected heterozygosities from 0.426 to 0.868. Cross-species amplifications suggest that primers designed for these loci may be useful in other closely related species of the tribe Phyllotini, but not in species of other, more distantly related tribes of the subfamily Sigmodontinae.