Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Branchiostoma belcheri Gray (Amphioxus)

Branchiostoma belcheri Gray is a second-class, nationally protected protochordate in China. We developed 10 novel polymorphic sites in B. belcheri, which were examined using a population of 30 wild individuals from Xiamen, China. The polymorphism information content ranged between 0.141 and 0.681, and the number of alleles varied from 2 to 5. The expected and observed heterozygosities varied between 0.1528 and 0.6920, and between 0.1429 and 0.5000, respectively. These novel microsatellite markers will facilitate the genetic analysis and protection of wild B. belcheri individuals, and the possible re-stocking of the species in the long-term.