title: Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci from Octodon degus.
abstract: Quantifying genetic kinship and parentage is critical to understanding the adaptive consequences of sociality. To measure fitness in a species with variable group structure, we isolated 14 microsatellite loci from Octodon degus, a semi-fossorial rodent endemic to Chile. The number of alleles per locus ranged from four to 14. Thirteen loci were in Hardy-Weinberg proportions, with values of observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.550 to 0.950. These markers provide the basis for future studies of the direct fitness consequences of sociality in O. degus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, LA 71209, USA Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas and Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology and Biodiversity, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 6513677 Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Y F
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Macmanes
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Ebensperger
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Lacey
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Hayes