Development and cross-species transferability of 23 microsatellite markers from the vulnerable Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes) using 454 sequencing

The Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes) is a vulnerable waterbird breeding on offshore islands. Here, 23 new microsatellite loci were isolated using 454 pyrosequencing, and were tested in 32 individuals from a single population in Fujian province of China. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 9. Observed heterozygosity and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.094 to 0.844 and 0.091 to 0.840, respectively. All loci showed Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium with the exception of three loci (Ee10, Ee17 and Ee23), possibly because of null alleles. The new loci also were confirmed a high cross-amplification success rate in the other seven Ardeid species. These new microsatellite data will provide a major resource for future conservation genetics studies on this vulnerable egret and the other Ardeids.