Development and characterization of 29 SNP markers for the Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana).

Macaca thibetana is an endemic species to China that is listed as near threatened in the IUCN Red Data Book. The species has previously been used in animal models for biomedical research. Due to anthropogenic impacts, the wild populations of M. thibetana have dramatically declined in recent years, which has resulted in low genetic diversity. Insufficient molecular markers have hindered the effective conservation and management of this species. In the present study, ten contig sequences containing 29 novel polymorphic SNPs were discovered using 40 samples as templates for PCR validation. The minor allele frequency ranged from 0.100 to 0.488, and the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0 to 0.600 and 0.182 to 0.506, respectively. The F_IS ranged from − 0.203 to 1.000. Among these SNPs, four loci showed significant departures from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p < 0.05). The novel polymorphic SNPs will help elucidate the population structure and conservation genetics of this precious species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]