Development and characterization of novel microsatellite loci for an endangered hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini by using shotgun sequencing

Abstract

The scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini is a migratory shark species, highly valued commercially for its meat and fins. Although this species has been listed on the CITES Appendix II, its genetic structure in the West Pacific is still little known. In this study, shotgun sequencing technique was used to sequence millions of small fragmented DNA sequences simultaneously. Nine novel polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated from sequencing reads and then tested on 54 individuals collected from the western North Pacific. The number of alleles detected in each locus ranged from seven to 21. Observed and expected heterozygosity of these loci were from 0.370 to 0.870 and from 0.505 to 0.724, respectively. These nine novel polymorphic loci can further be used to reveal genetic connectivity patterns among S. lewini in the West Pacific.