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Light Sheet-based Fluorescence Microscopy of Living or Fixed and Stained Tribolium castaneum Embryos
Published on: April 28, 2017
Development and characterization of novel microsatellite markers for Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
Li Lim1, Abdul Hafiz Ab Majid1
1Household & Structural Urban Entomology Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang.
Abstract:
The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), is a major pest of stored products. Microsatellite markers offer valuable tools for population genetic studies; however, existing markers often exhibit limited polymorphism or lack validation in field-collected populations. In this study, microsatellite loci were identified from whole-genome sequencing data of T. castaneum and tested for their utility in Malaysian populations. A total of 13.8 million sequence reads yielded 108,318 primer pairs, from which 20 markers were selected for screening. Of these, 7 loci consistently amplified and exhibited high levels of polymorphism, producing 14 to 28 alleles per locus. Expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0.798 to 0.962, and polymorphic information content exceeded 0.750 for all loci, indicating their high informativeness. Population differentiation analysis revealed moderate genetic structuring among populations (mean FSt = 0.162), suggesting restricted gene flow across sampled regions. These results demonstrate that the newly developed microsatellite markers are robust and highly polymorphic, providing a valuable resource for population genetic studies of T. castaneum and supporting efforts to understand pest dispersal and management in Malaysia.
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