Isolation of 105 microsatellite loci from an ovine genomic library enriched for microsatellites

This paper reports on the development of a small-insert (approximately 700 bp) total-genomic library for sheep specifically designed for enrichment for microsatellite (ms) loci. Four enriched libraries were prepared by amplification of the primary library with CA15, CA11, TG15 and TG11 oligonucleotide primers. A total of 11,020 clones was recovered, screened for dinucleotide repeats and over 500 positive clones sequenced. Sequence analysis indicated low clone redundancy and yielded 105 new ovine ms loci. Seventy-two percent of the new loci were found to be polymorphic in the sires of the AgResearch International Mapping Flock (IMF). The 105 new microsatellite loci increase the number of microsatellites available for sheep by >7%.