Improving genetic monitoring of the northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii)
Date
2014
Authors
White, L.
Horsup, A.
Taylor, A.
Austin, J.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Australian Journal of Zoology, 2014; 62(3):246-250
Statement of Responsibility
Lauren C. White, Alan Horsup, Andrea C. Taylor and Jeremy J. Austin
Conference Name
DOI
Abstract
The endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) has been monitored via remote sampling and genetic techniques since 2000, thus avoiding the detrimental effects on the animals of trapping and increasing the precision of abundance estimates. The currently available dinucleotide microsatellite markers used for this task are prone to stutter and other polymerase chain reaction artefacts, making allele calling difficult, and requiring costly duplication to ensure accuracy. To remedy this we have developed eight new tri- and tetranucleotide microsatellite markers that reduce the problem of stutter in DNA analysis. These new markers, along with three of the existing markers (two microsatellites and the SRY gender marker) were optimised in a single multiplex reaction that will reduce the time and cost of future northern hairy-nosed wombat hair censuses. We tested this new multiplex on 277 non-invasively collected hairs. One locus was rejected due to null-allele issues. The remaining nine microsatellite loci had two or three alleles. Genotype frequencies in the sample of detected individuals did not differ significantly from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and there was no evidence of linkage disequilibrium. This new multiplex provides comparable power to distinguish individuals, fewer issues with stutter artefacts and a reduced time and cost of analysis. It will be useful for future population censuses and long-term monitoring of individuals once they have been scored in previously genotyped and assigned samples.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Published: 31 July 2014
Access Status
Rights
Journal compilation © CSIRO 2014