Isolation and characterization of nuclear microsatellite loci in the anadromous marine fish Morone saxatilis

Molecular genetic studies of population structure and gene flow are commonly employed in fish stock assessment and breeding population delineation. Genetically structured breeding populations may have different effective population sizes, distinct reproductive rates and variable susceptibility to harvesting or breeding habitat degradation. Nine microsatellite loci were isolated for Morone saxatilis (Moronidae), an anadromous fish inhabiting the mid-Atlantic. Microsatellite loci were isolated with a subtractive hybridization method and will be used to estimate population structure. The loci averaged 8.5 alleles each. Seven loci in the Choptank population and two loci in the Potomac population deviated from Hardy-Weinberg expected frequencies of heterozygotes.