Development and cross-amplification of 16 polymorphic microsatellite markers in the Chestnut Bulbul Hemixos castanonotus

A set of primers to amplify 16 microsatellite DNA loci was developed for the Chestnut Bulbul Hemixos castanonotus and the cross-amplification of these loci was tested in a closely related species, the ashy bulbul Hemixos flavala. A total of 30 Chestnut Bulbul individuals were genotyped. An average of 6.5 alleles per locus (2–12 alleles) was detected. The expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0.218 to 0.888. Four loci significantly deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected. Fifteen of 16 loci were successfully amplified in the ashy bulbul, with rich polymorphism in 15 individuals tested. These markers will be useful in population genetics, conservation and phylogenies of the chestnut bulbul.