Development of microsatellite markers for two endangered grassland butterflies, Melitaea ambigua and M-protomedia (Nymphalidae), using Ion Torrent next-generation sequencing

Melitaea ambigua and M. protomedia (Nymphalidae) are widely distributed in the grasslands of Northeast Asia. In Japan, these species have been threatened by habitat loss because of the rapid expansion of land development over recent decades. We isolated and characterised 18 polymorphic microsatellite loci (9 loci for each species) using a next-generation sequencer. The number of alleles and the expected heterozygosity per locus was 2-12 and 2-7, 0.10-0.86 and 0.13-0.76 in M. ambigua and M. protomedia, respectively. The markers can be useful for genetic studies for conservation such as evaluation of genetic diversity and genetic structure.