Abstract

So far, only few microsatellite markers have been developed and extensively tested for echinoderms. To study the population genetic structure of the sea star Astropecten aranciacus, we developed primers for nine polymorphic microsatellite loci and tested them on two populations from Faro in Portugal (N = 25) and from La Herradura in Spain (N = 20). Within populations, allele numbers varied from four to 20, while expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.593 to 0.936 and from 0.222 to 0.900, respectively. Additional cross-species amplifications were polymorphic at some loci, indicating their potential usefulness for related taxa.