Isolation and characterization of 29 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the endangered Atlantic goliath grouper ( Epinephelus itajara ), and the Pacific goliath grouper ( E. quinquefasciatus )

We isolated 40 microsatellite markers for the endangered Atlantic, and Pacific goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara and E. quinquefasciatus. Loci were characterized using samples of E. itajara (n = 52) and E. quinquefasciatus (n = 10). Twenty-nine loci were polymorphic. For E. itajara and E. quinquefasciatus, respectively, mean numbers of alleles per locus were 5.2 and 4.3 and mean observed heterozygosities were 0.46 and 0.63. Three loci departed from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium expectations in the E. itajara sample. Allele frequencies differed significantly between the two taxa for each polymorphic locus.