Tetranucleotide microsatellite loci for Indian major carp

The characterization of five tetranucleotide microsatellite loci in a commercially important Asian cyprinid, Catla catla, is described. The alleles are not prone to stutter artefacts, usually associated with dinucleotide loci, and are readily visualized with a fast silver-staining protocol after electrophoresis in non-denaturing polyacrylamide.