Development of microsatellite loci and population genetics in the bumblebee catfish species pseudopimelodus atricaudus and pseudopimelodus magnus (Siluriformes: Pseudopimelodidae)

Abstract

The Neotropical freshwater catfish Pseudopimelodus atricaudus and Pseudopimelodus magnus are two recently discovered species endemic to the Colombian Magdalena-Cauca River basin. In this study, a set of 13 microsatellite loci were developed by using next generation sequence technology to assess the genetic diversity and population structure in P. atricaudus and test for cross-species amplification in P. magnus. Both species exhibited high genetic diversity (P. atricaudus: Na: 9.000 – 9.769 alleles/locus, Ho: 0.760 – 0.804, HE: 0.804 – 0.840; P. magnus: Na: 12.8 – 5.4 alleles/locus, Ho: 0.638 – 0.683, HE: 0.747 – 0.755) compared to the mean levels of genetic diversity reported for Neotropical Siluriformes, and lack of genetic differentiation among sampling sites within the Cauca River (P. atricaudus: F’ST =0.013 – 0.017, P > 0.05, D’est =-0.004 – 0.023, P > 0.05; P. magnus: F’ST = 0.031, P= 0.055; D’est = 0.045, P= 0.058). This work is the first insight on the diversity and the population genetics of species of the family Pseudopimelodidae and provides a framework to further population genetic and conservation analyses needed in this poorly studied family at the microevolutionary level.