A test of mink microsatellite markers in the ferret: amplification and sequence comparisons.
Short tandem repeats are a source of highly polymorphic markers in mammalian genomes. Genetic variation at these hypervariable loci is extensively used for linkage analysis and to identify individuals, and is very useful for interpopulation and interspecies studies. Fifty-nine microsatellite markers from American mink were tested in the ferret, under the same conditions as for the mink. Of the 59, 43 of them (73.5%) amplified a ferret sequence; 5 amplification products differed in size from the respective mink sequences. Ten amplified fragments from ferret were sequenced. The sequences that were identical in size to those from mink displayed a high degree of conservation, with some differences at the repeat motif sites. These results could aid cross-utilization of markers between these two species.
Anistoroaei
R
R
Division of Genetics and Bioinformatics, Department of Basic Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The Royal Veterinary & Agricultural University, Grønnegaardsvej 3, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark. ran@kvl.dk
Christensen
K
K
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005289:Ferrets / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008907:Mink / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism