Microsatellite isolation and linkage group identification in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

Microsatellites have proved to be very useful as genetic markers, as they seem to be ubiquitous and randomly distributed throughout most eukaryote genomes. However, our laboratories and others have determined that this paradigm does not necessarily apply to the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. We report the isolation and identification of microsatellite sequences from multiple genomic libraries for A. aegypti. We identified 6 single-copy simple microsatellites from 3 plasmid libraries enriched for (GA)(n), (AAT)(n), and (TAGA)(n) motifs from A. aegypti. In addition, we identified 5 single-copy microsatellites from an A. aegypti cosmid library. Genetic map positions were determined for 8 microsatellite loci. These markers greatly increase the number of microsatellite markers available for A. aegypti and provide additional tools for studying genetic variability of mosquito populations. Additionally, most A. aegypti microsatellites are closely associated with repetitive elements that likely accounts for the limited success in developing an extensive panel of microsatellite marker loci.