Development of Microsatellite Markers Reveals Moderate Genetic Diversity in Sabah’s Tri-Spine Horseshoe Crab, Tachypleus tridentatus (Leach, 1819)
Keywords:
Microsatellites, horseshoe crab, simple sequence repeat, molecular markers, SabahAbstract
The tri-spine horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus (Leach,1819), is a species under conservation pressure. Anecdotal observations suggest a decline in its populations along the coasts of Sabah, northern Borneo, raising concerns over the potential loss of genetic diversity. In this study, a total of 36 individuals were collected from three localities (Sandakan, Kota Belud, and Kudat) representing both the east and west coasts of Sabah. Genomic DNA from these samples was used to develop novel microsatellite markers, enabling the assessment of population-level genetic variation. Here, we report on the characterization of 14 polymorphic microsatellite loci. All loci were observed to be polymorphic with the number of alleles ranging from 2 to 5 per locus. The overall observed heterozygosity for the 14 analyzed loci ranged from 0.03 to 0.4667 while the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.2466 to 0.7706. The results indicate that genetic variability in the populations is moderate with signs of inbreeding and restricted gene flow. These markers have a potential application in population management where it will be used to determine if there is a loss of genetic diversity of the Asian horseshoe crab species that are present in Sabah.
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