title: Lepidopteran microsatellite DNA: redundant but promising.
abstract: The development of microsatellite DNA markers for use with butterflies and moths is extremely difficult for no apparent reason. New findings demonstrate that many lepidopteran microsatellite sequences exist in multiple copies in the genome, and have similar or almost identical flanking regions. These findings provide a compelling explanation for the low efficiency of microsatellite isolation in Lepidoptera, and might also shed light on the evolutionary dynamics of microsatellite sequences in these insects and other organisms.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 25 Beisihuan-Xi Road, Beijing 100080, PR China. dxzhang@ioz.ac.cn
authors.forename: De-Xing
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Zhang