Microsatellite loci for genetic analysis of the arctic gadids Boreogadus saida and Arctogadus glacialis

We report sets of 19 and 16 microsatellite loci for the examination of the population genetics of Boreogadus saida and Arctogadus glacialis, respectively. Six of these loci were developed from a collection of 9,497 expressed sequences from B. saida while the remaining loci were found in the literature and optimized for use in B. saida and A. glacialis. The numbers of alleles observed for each locus ranged from 3 to 33 in B. saida and 1–22 in A. glacialis. Observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.02 to 0.93 in B. saida and 0.17–1.0 in A. glacialis. Species specific differences were observed for the loci providing new tools for the identification of these two morphologically similar arctic gadids. The loci presented here can be used to distinguish between the two species and fill fundamental biological knowledge gaps, thus promoting conservation of these important fishes.