Isolation and characterization of 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the endangered Galapagos-endemic whitespotted sandbass (Paralabrax albomaculatus)

The white-spotted sandbass (Paralabrax albomaculatus)is a commercially important species in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, but is classified as endangered in the IUCN Red List. For this study, 10 microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized using Illumina paired-end sequencing. These loci can be used for genetic studies of population structure and connectivity to aid in the management of the white-spotted sandbass and other closely-related species. The 10 characterized loci were polymorphic, with 11–49 alleles per locus, and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.575 to 0.964. This set of markers is the first to be developed for this species.