Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in western North American Anodonta species

We have developed and characterized 13 microsatellite loci from a group of Anodonta species in western North America, and demonstrated their utility in populations representing two major clades in this genus. Allelic diversity and polymorphic information content were high for all loci, although these characteristics varied across populations. Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg genotypic ratios were not detected, although the estimated frequency of null alleles was high in one population for one locus. This is the first set of microsatellite loci to be developed for freshwater mussels in western North America, and will be useful for describing gene flow patterns among populations.